A homeless man, who allegedly robbed an octogenarian of thousands of euros after the elderly man welcomed him into his home, has been denied bail. Joseph Sciberras, 46, was remanded in custody after pleading not guilty to reducing his host’s bank savings to just €5. The man, who works at a bakery, had been offered shelter by the elderly Żabbar resident after being kicked out of his family home and roaming from one address to another. He landed under police suspicion when his host, aged “well over 80", turned up at the Żabbar police station to report suspected theft. The old man had tried, in vain, to withdraw money from an HSBC ATM. Thinking that there was something wrong with the card, he checked matters with the bank, only to be told that many withdrawals had been effected from his account. Further checks confirmed that his funds ranging between €4,000 and €5,000, had been reduced to €5. Investigations revealed that most of the withdrawals had been made at the BOV ATM at Mediatrix Place, Żabbar. Thousands withdrawn within three weeks Amounts of €100, €150 or €250 were withdrawn regularly between January 27 and February 18, explained prosecuting Inspector Darren Buhagiar,...
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