An alleged thief faced his probation officer yesterday and told her he would not have ended up in court again – just days after finishing a 20-year jail term – had he listened to her.

Silvio Pace, 42, of Ħamrun, stood in the dock as probation officer Mariella Lanzon told the court he had admitted to her that he stole tools from a construction site last September.

Mr Pace had been jailed for life, reduced to 20 years on appeal, after he was found guilty of helping cause an explosion in Paola in 1992 which accidentally killed a mother and her baby.

Together with another man, Vincent Spiteri, 59, of Paola, Mr Pace had been instructed by 58-year-old John Polidano to set fire to his Oxford Photo Studio in an attempt to defraud the insurance company.

Photographic chemicals in the studio caught fire and sparked a blast which caused the whole building to collapse, killing 24-year-old Yvette Bonnici and her 19-month-old son Sean. The Labour Party club next door to the building was also badly damaged.

Yesterday, in response to Ms Lanzon’s testimony, defence lawyer Veronique Dalli pointed out that Mr Pace did not have a support system like a family who could help him overcome his problems.

Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit postponed the court case to May to allow time for Mr Pace to prove that he wanted to make a change in his life.