A 60-year-old man who misappropriated €2,800 he had been given to register a car imported from the UK was jailed seven-and-a-half years after a court converted three suspended jail terms into effective prison time.

Francis Caruana, of St Paul’s Bay, misappropriated the money he had been given to register the vehicle. But since some documents were missing and the registration could not take place, he used the cash for something else, amounting to misappropriation.

Handing down judgment, Magistrate Neville Camilleri said Mr Caruana had not taken advantage of the various chances he had been given and continued to commit crimes even though he knew he had three suspended jail terms hanging over his head.

The court heard how Mr Caruana had received the cash from Krismar Vassallo, Anthony McKay and David Darmanin in September 2011, who met the accused while queuing at Transport Malta to register a car. They trusted him and handed over the money.

However, the car was never registered and he used the cash for something else. When they asked for the money, Mr Caruana told them he could not pay them back and instead gave them a car until the amount was paid. Until the case was concluded, Mr Caruana paid back the amount.

Magistrate Camilleri found him guilty of misappropriating the money and of committing the crime during the operative term of three suspended sentences of two years each. The sentences were handed down in February 2009 and in April and July 2010.

As he added 18 months for the misappropriation case, the magistrate turned the suspended jail terms into effective time in jail, imprisoning Mr Caruana for a total of seven-and-a-half years.

Police inspector Rennie Stivala prosecuted.