The Court of Appeal today converted a suspended term given to a relapsed thief into an effective jail term after finding that the lower court should not have handed down a suspended sentence to a relapser.

The appeal was filed by the Attorney General after the Magistrates' Court in June jailed Anthony Galea for two years suspended for three after he pleaded guilty to stealing three mobile phones worth around €2,330 from a Go outlet in Valletta. Mr Galea had pleaded guilty to the charges of theft and of relapsing.

Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono said the Magistrates' court should have never given Mr Galea a suspended sentence, because he was a relapser. The Magistrates' court could not hand down a suspended term since the Criminal Code provided that a suspended sentence could not be given to relapsers.

Mr Justice Galea Debono converted the two year jail term suspended for three years to effective two years jail term.

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