A 17-year-old who pleaded guilty to robbing a restaurant in Għar Lapsi was spared jail in favour of an 18-month probation order, but a magistrate warned him that further trouble would result in a jail term.

The teenager whose name cannot be published by court order was arraigned this morning but refused to be assisted by a lawyer, even when the court offered one free of charge.

His sobbing parents who accompanied him, told Magistrate Neville Camilleri that their son was filing an admission, and hence they saw no need for legal assistance.

While delivering his judgment Magistrate Camilleri warned the teenager that unless he would change his life and steer away from bad company he would pile more misery on his parents.

“Is this the way you thank your parents, after all they did for you?” he asked him.

The accused promised to follow the orders of the probation officer to reform himself.

While the defendants claimed that they only found €40 in the restaurant’s cash register, the owners insisted that they had found €2,000 missing.

His alleged accomplice, 20-year-old Keithien Borg, from Ħamrun denied all charges and was remanded in custody after the court rejected his request for bail.

In spite of his young age, the man is well known to the police due to his long criminal record. The court heard that up to six months ago the defendant was in jail in connection with a separate case. Apart from the theft charge, he was also accused of breaching three probation orders.

Police inspector Kylie Borg told the court the theft happened last Sunday at about 4am. The incident captured by CCTV footage showed three men fleeing with a car.

Subsequently, the vehicle was spotted in Żebbuġ and its discovery led to the arrest of the two defendants. Furthermore, the clothes used by the 17-year-old were found in the car. However, the third thief was still on the run and none of the accomplices had divulged his identity, the inspector said.

Lawyer Noel Bartolo was defence counsel.