Weeping and hugging a shawl closely around her shoulders, a woman entered a courtroom early this afternoon after being arrested yesterday in St Julian's as the prime suspect behind a case of pickpocketing.

Stoyanka Stancheva, 38, a Turkish-Bulgarian national with no fixed address in Malta, was arrested after she was spotted yesterday dumping a wallet which later was found to be empty.

Tourists reported to the police that they had allegedly been robbed of their wallets while travelling on a bus in the area. Their suspicions fell upon three females who were in the vicinity at the time of the theft.

The tourists decided to follow one of these suspects and spotted her throwing away the wallet

Acting on instinct, these tourists decided to follow one of these suspects and spotted her throwing away the wallet. The suspect was later apprehended by the police who charged her today with the simple theft of the wallet.

There appeared to be a recent surge in such petty thefts, the court was told. The court, presided over by magistrate Monica Vella, after hearing the woman admit her wrongdoing, declared her guilty and condemned her to a jail term of six months suspended for two years.

After being warned by the court about the repercussions of her failure to abide by such a sentence, the woman declared "I promise it will not happen” leaving the courtroom with wet cheeks and “thank you.”

Inspector Nikolai Sant prosecuted. Lawyer Benjamin Valenzia was legal aid.