A young man was given a suspended sentence he admitted in court on Friday to stealing some €54,000 from his mother’s home.

Kurt Aquilina, a 19-year-old Birżebbuġa resident, pleaded guilty to the aggravated theft and fabrication of evidence.

Prosecuting inspectors Mario Xiberras and Roderick Attard explained how the young man had taken the cash which had been hidden by his mother inside his bedroom. The money had been placed inside a computer case which had been tucked away in a shoebox.

It was only when investigators arrested other persons as suspects linked to the theft that the young man stepped forward as the true culprit.

The accused’s mother took the witness stand during the arraignment explaining how the family had gone a rough patch on account of a difficult personal separation.

The tearful mother had since forgiven her son for his wrongdoing, explaining that it would destroy the young man if she allowed proceedings to go further.

Upon hearing this testimony and in view of the accused’s early guilty plea, the court, presided over by magistrate Charmaine Galea, declared the teen guilty upon his own admission and condemned him to a two-year jail term suspended for three years, also taking into account the fact that the stolen money had been returned.

The court placed the accused under a supervision order and ordered him to foot the bill for the costs of the criminal inquiry.

“You should be careful not to break the law, but in particular for the next three years, otherwise you will go to prison,” warned the magistrate.

Lawyer Simon Micallef Stafrace was legal aid counsel.