A woman who refused to enter a plea after being accused of stealing luggage from the airport on Monday, earning herself a €200 fine for contempt of court, was remanded in custody this afternoon.
The woman first stole the luggage and was later seen in Xemxija wearing clothes and a handbag that were inside the stolen luggage, the prosecution claimed.
Photographs of the dresses found inside the suitcase as well as CCTV footage of her stealing it from the arrivals lounge were presented in court.
Shannon-Leigh Williams, from Portsmouth in the UK, appeared before Magistrate Carol Peralta charged with stealing the black suitcase with a blue band that belonged to a Maltese couple who arrived on a Ryanair flight from Girona in Spain.
Ms Williams was not on the same flight but had gained access to the baggage claim area at the airport after she showed her passport to the soldier on duty and explained that she had lost her luggage when she arrived in Malta on a Ryanair flight in May.
When the Maltese couple reported that one of their suitcases had not arrived, records showed that they had both been picked up. When the CCTV footage was checked, they saw Ms Williams taking the luggage and leaving the airport with it.
Ms Williams was then spotted, by chance, by the couple in Xemxija, sporting a hand-bag and sneakers identical to the ones which were in the stolen luggage.
In court, Ms Williams said that she had gone to the airport to pick up luggage which had not arrived when she came to Malta on a Ryanair flight in May.
She claimed that the baggage was similar to hers and that when she opened the luggage, there was a handbag similar to hers, adding that she did not go through the entire items packed in the suitcase.
Magistrate Peralta showed her eight photos of dresses that were inside the stolen luggage and asked whether she had similar dresses.
"Are you trying to tell me that you happen to have eight identical dresses to these?" he asked her. When she nodded, the magistrate told her he did not believe her.
Ms William kept trying to defend herself from the dock, arguing that she has a clean record and this was just a mistake.
The magistrate told her she was being "arrogant" and even fined her €200 for contempt of court when she said "I'm not going to answer you" to the magistrate's question whether she pleading guilty or not guilty.
When the magistrate warned her that he was going to fine her another €200 if she did not answer, she replied: "Not guilty...I'm telling you it was a mistake."
Given her attitude in court, the magistrate refused her request for bail, telling the woman that she was going to prison. At is point, Ms Williams burst into tears and as she was being escorted out of the courtroom said he - ostensibly referring to the magistrate - could "kiss my a**".
Police Inspector Silvio Magro prosecuted. Lawyer Christopher Chircop appeared for the woman while lawyer Yanika Camilleri appeared parte civile for the Maltese couple.