A magistrate upheld a serial thief’s plea that he did not steal money from a hotel room and acquitted him, 14 years after the incident allegedly occurred.

Patrick Mangion, 40, from Żabbar, pleaded his innocence, and from the witness stand insisted that, whenever he was arraigned in other cases, he always admitted guilt but this time he was truly blameless.

The saga started in September 1999 when tourists Lynn Currie and Catriona Hardie reported to the police that they had found a man, claiming to be a plumber, in their hotel room only to later realise that their cash and jewellery had been stolen.

They were staying at the Buġibba Holiday Complex, which has since closed down.

They gave the police a description of the suspect, who, they said, spoke good English. Their description fitted Mr Mangion’s stature.

But in court Mr Mangion claimed it was a frame-up.

Magistrate Miriam Hayman, in the judgment, highlighted Mr Mangion’s frustration and anger at having been accused of the theft.

She noted that, out of about 200 pictures of men, the victims picked out three, including one of the accused. However, when the police held an identification parade, the two other men featured in the images selected by the victims were not present and this prejudiced the validity of the exercise.

The court also noted that, although the tourists had said the suspect spoke English well, a teacher at the prison said that Mr Mangion’s understanding of the language was of primary school level.

No fingerprints had been found in the hotel room.

In the circumstances, the court acquitted Mr Mangion.

Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Kathleen Grima appeared for Mr Mangion.