A contractor who was allegedly captured on camera in the act of towing a piece of machinery taken from a construction site in Mosta, was granted bail today after pleading not guilty to theft.

Antoine Borg, 35, from Swieqi, was arraigned this morning and charged with having committed the theft as well as with having traded in stolen property. He was further charged with being a relapser and with having breached the conditions of an earlier suspended sentence.

The court heard how on the evening of January 15, 2017 at around 9pm the accused's vehicle was spotted some 200 metres from a construction site in Triq il-Fortizza, towing a stone-cutting machine. A CCTV camera recorded the accused's movements, the prosecution explained.

Tracing the owner of the vehicle, the police questioned the accused and pressed criminal charges against him. Recently, the police had allegedly received various reports of similar thefts from construction sites.

Mr Borg pleaded not guilty and was granted bail against a deposit of €500 and a personal guarantee of €1,500. The court ordered the accused to sign the bail book twice weekly and warned him not to approach any witnesses related to the case.

Inspector Maurice Curmi prosecuted.

Lawyer Joseph Giglio was defence counsel.