A man who used false debit cards has been sentenced to 15 months behind bars.

Takai Tota admitted eight charges when he appeared in Magistrates’ Court at an earlier date.

Tota, from Pembroke, committed the offences, which include dishonestly obtaining $1,500 from HSBC, having eight false debit cards and using fraudulent MarketPlace gift cards “with the intention of inducing HSBC to accept [them] as genuine debit cards”, and initially denied all charges.

Tota, who has been in custody since November, was sentenced for the offences in Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

Both Cindy Clarke, the Director of Public Prosecutions, and Paul Wilson, Tota’s lawyer, suggested that he serve between 12 and 18 months behind bars, followed by probation.

Before sentencing, Tota told magistrate Craig Attridge: “Do what you feel is right, I’m sorry for making so many poor choices.”

Mr Attridge ruled that time already in custody be taken into account in Tota’s 15-month sentence, and ordered him to complete three years of probation upon release.

Conditions of Tota’s probation include abstaining from drugs and alcohol, participating in any programmes recommended by court services and following a daily curfew for the first six months.

Mr Attridge also sentenced Tota to 40 days behind bars, to run with his criminal sentence, for an unrelated traffic offence.

• It is The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding court cases. As we are legally liable for any libellous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers