A homeless man who lived on the streets and hid his belongings in the bushes along the Buġibba promenade will be deported immediately after he admitted to handling a stolen laptop.

Serbian national Sinisa Maksic, 37, pleaded guilty to living the life of a vagabond. He admitted to being in possession of an Acer laptop that had been reported stolen from El Mucho restaurants in Triq il-Kahli in St Paul’s Bay at 3pm yesterday.

He was originally charged with stealing the laptop but the prosecution withdrew the charge after it resulted that he had been given the stolen laptop.

Police Inspector Godwin Scerri told the court that after the man was arrested and the laptop found and returned to its owner, he had accompanied him to collect his personal belongings. The man took the officer to the promenade where he pulled out his belongings from underneath the bushes.

Magistrate Carol Peralta jailed the man for two years suspended for four years and ordered his immediate deportation.

Lawyer Martin Fenech appeared for the man as legal aid.