A 28-year-old woman from Xemxija this morning admitted in court to having stolen gold items from a house in Hamrun but denied it was worth €50,000.

The prosecution said the woman had cooperated with the police.

According to the defence, the woman has a number of civil suits which had drained her financially. The jewellery was stolen while the woman worked as a maid. It was then allegedly sold for a few hundred euro.

In pleading guilty, the accused denied prosecution claims that her haul was worth €50,000.

She was condemned to two years in jail suspended for four years.

The court ordered a ban on the name because of ongoing investigations into the destination of the jewellery.