An unlicensed private investigator got a taste of his own medicine when a woman he was hired to follow realised what was going on and started taking photos of him.

Oliver Abela was found guilty of snatching the camera from the woman’s hands while they were stuck in traffic in Pembroke on November 4, 2003.

He was also found guilty of threatening and assaulting the woman, breaching the peace and acting as a private investigator without a police licence.

The 67-year-old, from Blata l-Bajda, was conditionally discharged for three years, fined €300 and ordered not to bother the woman, or anyone else, against a €900 guarantee.

Magistrate Saviour Demicoli heard that the woman and her husband were undergoing separation proceedings and the man hired Mr Abela to follow her.

The woman said she sensed she was being followed and so bought a disposable camera to document this. The day before the incident, she noticed Mr Abela across the road and took photos as she was walking into the Sliema hotel where she worked.

She claimed that he went up to her and ordered her to stop photographing him, saying he was a police officer and would have her arrested for insubordination.

The next day, she saw him again while driving and took more photos. When they were stuck in traffic, Mr Abela got out of the car and took her camera.

Mr Abela claimed he had been working as an investigator for 25 years and had a diploma from Education Direct, in Pennsylvania, US.

He denied telling the woman that he was a policeman and said he took the camera when it was about to fall out of her hands.

He unsuccessfully tried to remove the film then took the camera to the St Julian’s police station.