A young, soft-spoken woman is being held behind bars after being accused of having carried out a mugging in Gzira last month. 

Miriam Elabed, 24, from Marsascala, stood calmly before a magistrate, hands clasped behind her back, sporting a tuft of hair on an otherwise clean-shaven head. She denied involvement.

She was charged with having, in the early hours of May 14, broken into a parked Maruti vehicle with the intention of making off with the owner’s possessions. 

Shortly after she held a pedestrian at knifepoint and stole her handbag, contained €80 in cash, a credit card, a driving licence and other personal belongings.

The woman was charged with aggravated theft, with having held her victim against her will, with having damaged third party property, with having committed the offences while in possession of a knife and also with being a relapser. All this was allegedly carried out while the woman was under a suspended sentence. 

Police investigations led to the woman after she tried to make use of the credit card she had stolen, sources said. 

In a barely audible voice, the woman pleaded not guilty in court.

The prosecution objected to bail, stressing the nature of the offence which involved a degree of violence upon an unsuspecting victim. Moreover, it was observed that the accused's address was uncertain while her conduct record was not particularly ideal. Moreover, civilian witnesses, including the victims, were still to testify.

The defence counsel argued that the accused actually resided next door to her mother, although her ID card appeared to state otherwise. Moreover, owing to her medical condition, the woman was in “daily need of nursing.”

After having battled to quit her drug habit, the woman had been leading a relatively tranquil life, counsel said. Denying her bail would be too harsh a measure, and the criminal record should not prejudice a suspect’s position at the arraignment stage.

However, Magistrate Neville Camilleri turned down the request for bail in the light of the nature of the offences, particularly the fact that the woman was allegedly a relapser and had been acting under a suspended sentence.

The court recommended the woman be held at the Forensic Unit where she may receive adequate medical attention.

Inspectors Carlos Cordina and Lara Butters prosecuted.

Lawyers Christopher Chircop and Lucio Sciriha were defence counsel.