http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20160325/local/young-man-charged-with-stealing-womans-handbag.606774
by Kim Dalli
Young man charged with stealing woman's handbag
A 25-year-old man from Eritrea was remanded in custody after he was charged with stealing a handbag from a foreign national in Paceville.
Yemane Teklom Zerislase denied stealing a handbag containing a €300 mobile phone, assaulting the victim and being drunk in public.
Prosecuting officer Nikolai Sant told Magistate Monica Vella that the woman was walking through Paceville at around 2am this morning when the accused attempted to grab the handbag hanging from her shoulders.
The woman resisted and the accused instead tried to lift her skirt so that she would let go of the handbag. As she tried to keep her skirt down, the accused grabbed the handbag and fled.
Two Italian men gave chase and managed to stop him. The police were informed and the items were returned to the victim.
The accused initially admitted to the charges but when it was explained to him that being drunk was no excuse and that he could be sent to prison, he replied that he "did not do those things".
He asked for an Eritrean interpreter, saying that his grasp of English was very poor. However, no such interpreter was available.
Lawyer Christopher Chircop asked for bail, which was opposed by Insp. Sant due to the fear of tampering of evidence and of absconding. The accused, the court heard, also failed to provide an exact address.
The court turned down the request for bail and he was remanded in custody.
Received on Sat Mar 26 2016 - 07:16:14 EDT