A man and two brothers allegedly caught red-handed stealing 180 kilos of copper wire were rapped by a magistrate for wasting their lives at such a young age.

“You are still young and have already wasted your lives... You should be ashamed of yourselves,” Magistrate Clare Stafrace Zammit told the three men when they appeared in court to face theft charges yesterday.

Andrei Zerafa, 28, of Marsaxlokk, Roderick Montesin, 23, and his brother Melvin, 21, both of Siġġiewi, pleaded not guilty to stealing the copper wire, found by the police stashed in seven sacks and costing almost €900, on Friday evening in Marsa.

The magistrate’s telling off came after Police Inspector Daniel Zammit objected to a request for bail, pointing out the accused all suffered from a drug addiction problem and were unemployed. “None of them registers as unemployed, so this will create a vicious circle where they will turn to crime to get drugs,” he said.

Also, the brothers had already been granted bail in another case and they all came from difficult backgrounds that would not help them remain within the law, the prosecuting officer said.

The magistrate asked the accused whether they had a drug addiction problem and they replied they did. She asked why they did not make the effort to find a job or, at least, register as jobless. They said they had only recently lost their job and they were about to start registering.

The two brothers also pleaded not guilty to breaching the conditions of a previous release and a probation order. Melvin Montesin pleaded not guilty to relapsing.

The court refused to grant bail to the brothers.

“I will not permit that you are arrested again while out on bail. A magistrate gave you a chance but you wasted it... I can’t trust you,” she said.

She granted Mr Zerafa bail against a deposit of €200 and a personal guarantee of €3,000. “I hope I didn’t make a mistake with you today,” she said.

Lawyer Joseph Ellis appeared for the accused as legal aid.