A shoplifter who was seen stuffing bottles of perfume in his trousers, put the bottles back when he was challenged and then dropped his trousers and underpants before startled customers in order to prove his innocence, a court was told today.

The case happened yesterday at The Body Shop in Valletta.

A court heard a shop assistant testify how Stephen Nappa, 31, of Valletta, who has several convictions for theft, was seen stealing perfumes worth €18 each on Saturday.

She said the salesgirls knew about him from previous incidents and had instructions not to speak to him.

But on Sunday, the general manager was in the shop expecting Mr Nappa to return, which he did.

He saw him take some perfume bottles and stuff them in his trousers and immediately challenged him.

As the general manager called the police, Mr Nappa put the bottles back on the shelf. He then insisted that he had not stolen anything, and dropped his trousers and underpants before the customers, in order to prove his innocence.

As a result the police also filed charges of indecent exposure.

Police Inspector Daniel Zammit told the court that Mr Nappa had a serious drug problem and the place where he lived was 'covered in syringes'.

He asked for an effective jail term.

Magistrate Anthony Vella upheld his request and jailed the accused for six months. He was also jailed for an extra two years for breaching a probation order handed down in May.