Updated | Judge unable to decide abuse case a second time

Mr Justice Lawrence Quintano said that he could not hear the case in question because he had already decided on the case before.

The man who was jailed for two years for defiling his daughter this morning reiterated his claim of miscarriage of justice in an application filed in the Court of Appeal.

The Criminal Court Registry was informed of the development and a decision will now be taken by the Chief Justice on who should hear the case. Lawyer Tonio Azzopardi has requested bail for his client until the mother's perjury case is heard.

In his application in the Court of Appeal today, Dr Azzopardi said this court knew how much had the man insisted his innocence. It also knew that according to the gynaecological exams carried out on the girl, she showed no signs of abuse in spite of her claims that he sexually abused her five times.

The daughter, he said, was also to be charged over the reports, which she had already recanted during the appeal. The Appeal’s Court had not however considered the daughter’s claim as proof of the man’s innocence and had also shelved other evidence.