A father and son with two suspended sentences and five bail decrees between them were today denied bail after they faced charges of attempting to steal machinery from a Marsa factory. 

Keith Joseph Mallia, 46, a transporter, and his 19-year old son Mario, a salesman, both from Għaxaq, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Police say they caught the the two red-handed while attempting to steal the machinery, after an anonymous tipster noted strange noises, similar to that of heavy objects being dragged around, coming from the disused building. 

Officers found the two men at the site, with signs that machines had been shifted from their original position.

Both father and son were arrested and escorted to court over charges of attempted theft, of having broken into the factory premises, over the damage caused to third party property as well as for having been found in possession of tools normally used in break ins.

The father alone was charged with having driven a vehicle with an expired licence, breaching an earlier suspended sentence as well as four different bail decrees, and being a relapser.

The son alone was likewise charged with relapsing, with violating a conditional discharge, a bail decree and a suspended sentence.

The two men pleaded not guilty and their defence lawyer, Franco Debono, requested bail, arguing that the not only was there an overriding presumption of innocence, but there were several theories supported by caselaw which militated against the charge of attempted theft in such circumstances.

Nevertheless, the court, presided over by magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace, rejected the request for bail in view of the lack of trustworthiness presented by both accused.

Inspector Hubert Cini prosecuted.
Lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia were defence counsel.