A 28-year-old man from Zabbar has been remanded in custody for begging and for committing a string of petty thefts.

Rodrick Grima was charged with begging for money in Qormi, stealing a bicycle, handling stolen goods, fleeing from the Floriana Health Centre whilst under police custody, stealing from a vehicle parked in Qormi and relapsing.

Prosecuting officer Roderick Agius told the court that the accused needed a lot of help but refused to acknowledge this fact.

"He begs, runs about in the streets and steals," he told Magistrate Joe Mifsud. The accused entered a not guilty plea.

The court denied the request for bail, cautioning the accused to reflect on his actions and refusal to seek help.

He was also placed under a provisional order of supervision.

Legal aid lawyer Noel Bartolo appeared for the accused.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.