A 37-year-old man from Cospicua was this morning convicted of having stolen his employers' chequebook and having made use of six cheques.

A court was told that the case happened earlier this year, and the money has been paid back by a relative.

A probation officer explained that the accused suffered a drug problem which he had not consistently addressed.

The accused had a two-year suspended jail term extended by three years and was placed under probation for 30 months.

In another case, a 27-year-old man from Zejtun was fined €1,164 and put on three years probation after admitting stealing cash from a till after breaking into Chick King takeaway in Marsascala on January 26. He also admitted stealing a Hyundai Accent car, damaging the car, handling stolen property, stealing vehicle number plates and breaching the conditions of a conditional discharge.

The court in handing down sentence noted that the accused was helping the police in their investigation of other people and was prepared to give evidence.