A telephone operator at Mater Dei who stole two mobile phones stuffing one in her bra and the other in her bag was placed under probation and ordered to address her drug addiction.

Alison Mckeown, 38, from Marsa, was taken to court on Tuesday and charged with committing the aggravated theft last Sunday afternoon. She was further charged with the misappropriation of hospital property as well as with relapsing.

In the course of the arraignment, little light was shed upon the circumstances leading to the employee’s arrest, with prosecuting inspector Lara Butters informing the court that the Samsung and Alcatel devices had been found in her possession.

One phone was hidden on her person, while the other was retrieved from her handbag.

Upon being approached by the police, the woman had admitted to her wrongdoing and cooperated fully in the investigation, besides returning the stolen phones to hospital authorities.

The court, presided over by magistrate Francesco Depasquale, after hearing the accused plead guilty to the charges, took note of the fact that the woman appeared to have a drug problem which had dragged on for the past 20 years.

Defence counsel Franco Debono, pointing out that his client did have “a drug abuse problem”, suggested probation as the best way forward.

Declaring the accused guilty, the court placed the accused under a three-year probation order, imposing the condition of undergoing a drug rehabilitation programme ‘immediately’ and ordering further that the court would be regularly updated on the progress registered.

“I’m going to give you a chance. I don’t want you to lose your job, but if you breach your probation you will be in trouble,” was the magistrate’s final word of warning.

Lawyer Amadeus Cachia also appeared as defence counsel.