A Yemeni man committed a spate of burglaries in an attempt to impress his girlfriend and "shower" her with gifts worth thousands of dinars, a court heard.

The 23-year-old is standing trial at the High Criminal Court, where he has denied the charges of theft levied against him and his Moroccan lover.

However, he earlier admitted to the burglaries - the latest of which occurred in September 2012 when BD4,000 ($10,538) worth of jewellery and BD260 ($685) in cash were allegedly stolen from a BDF officer's home in Riffa.

"I met her (Moroccan co-defendant) in a disco in Bahrain and we fell in love with each other," he said in his statement to prosecutors.

"She owns a shop in the UAE and we used to meet in Bahrain to hang out.

"I committed a chain of burglaries in Riffa to be able to impress her and shower her with gifts."

The last burglary, on September 29, 2012, saw him make off with two diamond, gold and pearl necklaces, BD260 in cash and a credit card, he admitted.

An additional BD190 was also allegedly withdrawn from the credit card.

However, the Moroccan woman has denied any knowledge of the fact that the gifts from her boyfriend were stolen.

"I met him in a disco and we became very close," said the 30-year-old shop owner.

"He then started giving me perfumes, Cartier watches and jewellery as gifts.

"He also gave me BD300 to rent an apartment in the UAE.

"In addition he paid for my travel tickets but I never knew he had stolen anything.

"I learnt from his friends that he was arrested in connection to thefts before I was summoned by the police."

The BDF officer, victim of the latest theft, described how he had discovered that a person had broken into his home and made off with his mother's jewellery.

"We returned home and I discovered that the house was in a mess and more than BD4,000 of my mother's jewellery was stolen," the 26-year-old told prosecutors.

"Someone had broken into our safe and made away with the jewellery and BD260 and credit cards."

The trial was adjourned until June 18 for review.