Man acquitted over police mistake

The wrong date on a charge sheet resulted in acquittal of a man accused of usury.

Inspector Maurice Curmi arraigned Rodney Ciantar, 37, of Senglea charging of demanding extortionate repayments from Raymond Psaila after he lent him the sum of €6,988 (Lm3,000). The charge read that the related offences took place in December 2010 and also during prior months and years. However the accused contested the charges, saying he was owed money which was never paid back.

The case dates back to September 2006, when Psaila asked Ciantar to lend him cash. Psaila claimed he asked for €6,988 and agreed to pay it back in seven weeks. However, two days later, Ciantar demanded the whole amount back.

The alleged victim was not in a position to pay €6,988, so the two signed an agreement reading Ciantar was owed €18,635 (Lm8,000). At the same time Psaila received another document from Ciantar outlining a weekly repayment schedule spread over seven weeks from the date he was lent money.

The two kept arguing over the amount to be paid until Psaila filed a report at the fraud squad. The police spoke to Ciantar who insisted he had lent Psaila €18,635.

Psaila did not return to the police and no charges were issued in that year.

On 15 January 2007, Psaila and Ciantar signed a deed in the presence of a notary, stating the latter was owed €18,635. The amount had to be paid in three payments by end of June the same year. Once more, Psaila did not honour the payment schedule and rushed back to the police, claiming he was a victim of usury. Ciantar was interviewed at the Police HQ. In his statement, he reiterated that Psaila had only paid him €4,700 from the €18,635 he owed him.

Magistrate Doreen Clarke argued the charge sheet read that the offence was committed in December 2010. This was incorrect, as the evidence exhibited in court showed Ciantar had lent money to Psaila in 2006, not 2010.

"The only event taking place in 2010 was Psaila's return to the police to file a second report. Hence Ciantar committed no offence at the time shown on the charge sheet," the court held.

Furthermore, the court stated that when drawing charges the prosecution cannot rely on the term 'and previous years and weeks' but needs to give well-defined time frames of when the alleged crime was committed.

Magistrate Doreen Clarke concluded that since no offence was committed at the time stated by the prosecution, the court was left with no alternative but to acquit Ciantar of all charges.

Inspector Maurice Curmi prosecuted.