An Italian man who left his identity card at a Buġibba bank where he went to cash the last of four stolen cheques was yesterday given a suspended jail term after pleading guilty.

The photo of Giuseppe Mermina had been circulated on Facebook after the cheque owners, whose office he broke into, tried to track him down.

He was arrested when the police received a tip-off that he was staying in a Marsaxlokk hotel.

Magistrate Doreen Clarke yesterday heard Mr Mermina, 52, admit to stealing the cheques and other objects from an architect’s office on November 1.

Mr Mermina, a chef, also pleaded guilty to making use of the forged cheques to steal about €4,000.

Sources said he managed to cash three of the cheques but by the time he got to the fourth the bank had been alerted.

When he went to cash it, the cashier noticed and asked him to wait a moment. He realised he had been busted and took off, leaving his identity card behind.

The bank passed on a copy to the police and the victims and the latter circulated it on Facebook.

Mr Mermina yesterday also admitted to stealing several items, mainly alcohol, from two restaurants in St Julian’s last month and causing damage when he broke in.

Following his arrest on Friday, his fingerprints were run through the police database and a match was made with a theft carried out in a Chinese restaurant in October.

Mr Mermina also admitted to a theft at another restaurant in St Julian’s.

On handing down judgment, the magistrate noted that the accused cooperated with the police.

She handed down a two-year jail term suspended for four years and ordered him to pay the victims back, €7,800 in total, within six months.

Lawyer Martin Fenech represented the accused.