Appeals court rejects jail sentence for alleged fruit thief

A YEAR-and-a-half jail sentence given for stealing 300 kilos of oranges has been declared null by a Malaga Provincial Court.
Although the accused was found guilty of cutting through a fence and stealing the fruit and ordered to pay damages along with an 18 month jail sentence, the appeals court has cancelled the judge’s decision. The revocation is due to statements that were not taken in court, from two witnesses who said they were in a bar with the man at the time the theft took place.
Now the hearing will have to be repeated, this time allowing the two witnesses to give evidence.