A strapped-for-cash chain smoker ended up in court after stealing 1,600 cigarettes from the arrivals lounge at the airport.

Emanuel Attard, an unassuming 62-year-old Maltese emigrant living in London, sauntered into the shop with a large bag and the temptation was just too great, the court heard.

He is in Malta for a one-week holiday and was planning to smoke the whole haul during his stay.

Magistrate Anthony Vella was unsympathetic. The police in Britain, he said, would have made a show of him had he attempted a stunt of the sort over there. “Do people realise how much of other people’s time they waste when they commit such crimes,” he asked.

He said a crime of this nature was unacceptable and pointed out to defence lawyer Martin Fenech that this could land the accused in jail from anywhere between five months and three years.

“Was it all worth it,” the magistrate asked again.

The lawyer agreed with the magistrate about the gravity of the crime but said the fact of the matter was that his client was a first-time offender and had cooperated with the police. He described his action as a moment of madness especially when considering he was surrounded by security measures such as CCTV.

Police Inspector Edel Mary Camilleri said she was pushing for a suspended jail term to make sure Mr Attard did not commit the same crime again. Magistrate Vella gave him a six-month jail sentence suspended for two years.