A Polish chef who stole a car while he was drunk and was caught by the police after a brief chase was handed a suspended jail term and fined €2,300.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera heard that the police intervened after a row Michal Nowak Lukasz, 33, had with his sister who lives in Malta.

When the police arrived, the man fled the scene, boarded a Peugeot and drove off. With the police in hot pursuit, he was involved in a traffic accident before he was arrested.

Mr Lukasz pleaded stealing the vehicle, which was parked in a garage in St Paul’s Street, St Paul’s Bay, damaging it, driving under the influence of alcohol, driving the vehicle without a licence or insurance cover and being drunk and incapable of taking care of himself.

The court heard how Mr Lukasz had paid the €350 damage he had caused to the car. In her considerations, Magistrate Scerri Herrera said that he was a first-time offender. She also considered that he pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

The magistrate condemned him to one year in jail suspended for three years over the theft and the accident and fined him €2,300 for the charges related to drink driving.

Police Inspector Godwin Scerri prosecuted.

Lawyer Joseph Mizzi appeared for Mr Lukasz.