A magistrate yesterday strongly rebuked a police inspector for failing to appear before him for the fourth time over a case of theft of a handbag.

Magistrate Neville Camilleri gave Police Inspector Therese Sciberras two weeks to file a detailed report explaining her absence, noting that she had done it before.

Visibly irked by the event and in a packed courtroom with everyone waiting for their case to be heard, Magistrate Camilleri "deplored" the inspector's shortcoming.

He said that apart from disobeying a court order, since she had already been ordered to appear in court, the inspector was also wasting the court's time and that of the accused , who make an appearance only to discover that the inspector was absent. 

The magistrate reserved the right to take further action against the inspector if she failed to attend the next sitting or failed to explain her absence, including by reporting her to the Police Commissioner.