Thief dad denies taking handbags

A Sicilian thief who was jailed for theft two weeks ago but was granted bail pending an appeal to witness his son’s birth appeared in court yesterday charged with stealing two handbags from a hotel.

Gianluca Torres, 39, from Rabat, adamantly denied having stolen anything, telling Magistrate Antonio Mizzi that whenever he was guilty he admitted to the crime, but this time round he truly was not to blame.

He pleaded not guilty to stealing the bags from Hotel Santana in the early hours of Thurs-day morning.

Mr Torres was jailed for 18 months two weeks ago for stealing from the Millennium chapel in Paceville, claiming he did so because he needed to buy a cot for his baby.

Magistrate Antonio Mizzi noted that the accused had already been previously arraigned on theft charges. He had been given bail to be present for his son’s birth but appeared to have committed another crime.

The magistrate granted him bail against a personal guarantee of €20,000 until sentencing on September 12, warning Mr Torres that if he committed another crime, the punishment would rise dramatically.