A man with no less than 35 convictions on his criminal record had a fine converted into a jail term on appeal yesterday after having admitted to stealing a compressor.

The appeal was filed by the Attorney General.

Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano ruled that the magistrate's court was incorrect in handing down a fine as punishment especially after reviewing the convict's criminal record.

Paul Calleja, 55, was fined €1,164 last October after he admitted to stealing a compressor from the Waterfront Hotel in 2002. The Attorney General appealed claiming the sentence was below the minimum.

Chief Justice De Gaetano said it was very clear that the judgment was not within the parameters of the law. For the court to hand down a punishment that was below the minimum there would have to be extraordinary circumstances and they would have to be cited in the judgment, which was not done in this case.

Mr Calleja's convictions date back to 1966 and include fines, suspension of his driving licence a number of times, five conditional discharges, a seven-year prison term in 1974 for theft and a suspended jail term.

"It is, therefore, difficult for one to understand how the first court could contemplate going below the minimum," the Chief Justice said.

He added that the Magistrate's Court should take into consideration all the circumstances of the case, including the criminal record, before handing down judgment and should not rush into judgment when there was an admission, lest mistakes be made.