A Hamrun woman, who had been jailed for a year-and-a-half for defrauding a number of shops with an HSBC cheque book issued under another name, had her punishment reduced after a court heard how she suffered from mental health problems.

The woman had admitted to using the cheque book to make purchases of €1,610 from Scan Computers, €604 from Forestalls, €340 from Peter Blond Ltd, €164 from Model Shop, €1,322 from Pavi,and €1,233 from Homemate in November 2009. She also admitted to relapsing.

After admitting to the charges, she had been jailed for a year-and-a-half by the first court but then appealed with her lawyer - Mark Busuttil - noting that his client was bi-polar and had no control over her behaviour. Mr Busuttil did not represent her when she admitted.

The court heard how the woman, who also had manic depression, had paid back the money defrauded and was successfully undergoing psychiatric treatment. It changed the punishment to a one-year conditional discharge.

The woman's name is not being published due to her sensitive state of mental health.