A man who admitted to his involvement in a theft from an Msida apartment two years ago has been granted bail pending judgment in his regard.

Abdulkarim Mohamed El Magtouf, a 28-year old Libyan national, pleaded guilty to the aggravated theft during his arraignment on Tuesday, but insisted that although he had participated in the theft, he had not actually taken anything.

Items of jewellery and money, exceeding €2,329.37 in value, had been taken in the robbery, the court was told. However, since the victims no longer resided in Malta, they were not easily available to testify in the case, the prosecution explained.

Bearing this in mind, besides the fact that the accused had cooperated fully with investigators, the prosecution did not insist upon an effective jail term and did not object to bail so long as adequate conditions were in place.

Duty magistrate Audrey Demicoli upheld the request for bail against a personal guarantee of €2,000 and a duty to sign the bail book every day, besides depositing his personal documents in court.

Judgment is expected next week.

Inspectors Jonathan Ransley and Therese Sciberras prosecuted.

Lawyer Ismael Psaila was legal aid counsel to the accused.