A man caught roaming the streets of Qawra in the early hours of Sunday morning, in violation of bail conditions, was remanded in custody today.

Sierra Leone national Awal Mohammed, 38, residing in St Paul's Bay, was arrested after police patrolling the area came across him at around 2.15am.

Inspector Maurice Curmi explained in court today that the man had not only breached the curfew placed upon him in separate proceedings before a Magistrates’ Court in May 2016, but he had also changed his place of residence without informing the police. Furthermore, the man had failed to turn up to sign the bail book for the last two months.

“What did the police do about this?” Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech promptly asked. “Once they realised that a person did not turn up to sign the bail book, in clear violation of a court order, they ought to act immediately,” the court rapped.

Legal aid lawyer Francine Abela, assisting the accused, pointed out that her client had allegedly gone out to "buy some bread".

However, the court, apparently not impressed by this explanation, denied bail after hearing the defendant plead not guilty to the charges, pointing out that it was not satisfied that “should he be granted bail he would not breach conditions once more”.