Two men from Valletta have been jailed for five years after admitting to breaking the shoulder of an elderly woman as they attempted to snatch her handbag.

Antoine Grima, 27, and Domenic Agius, 23, were accused of conspiring to commit a crime, attempted aggravated theft and grievously injuring the woman back in 2012 as she was walking down Old Theatre Street in Valletta. Mr Agius was also charged with breaching a probation order imposed on him by a previous sentence.

The woman, who at the time was 63 years old, continues to suffer from permanent problems to her left shoulder as a result of the incident.

The pair had admitted to committing the crime upon their arraignment and had confirmed their guilt before Madam Justice Edwina Grima in the Criminal Court.

Noting that although the two accused had made progress in reforming their lives, the court said it could not ignore the fact that the crime had been committed against a vulnerable person who still continues the physical consequences of the violence to this day.

Stealing to sustain a drug addiction habit was no excuse, the court said.

In delivering judgment, Madam Justice Grima noted that the court had to strike a balance between protecting society and allowing the accused to reform themselves.

In the present case, this balance could only be reached through a jail sentence where they could be given the necessary assistance to continue to reform themselves.

Quoting from a past judgment, the court stressed that the criminal courts should send out a clear message that physical violence should always carry an effective jail term and that when violence is targeted at minors, the elderly or vulnerable people, the sentence should be more severe.

The two men were therefore each sentenced to five years imprisonment.