'Tristan B' goes back to jail

The singer, Emanuel Balzan 33 of Rabat was jailed for nine months after he was found guilty of defrauding a family friend who lent him €2,175 for an operation which he never did or was diagnosed for.

According to the Court, Balzan “invented stories” in a bid to gain sympathy from others and get them to lend him money while also knowing that he could not repay the debt.

The new case goes back to last January when the singer was admitted to Mater Dei hospital and was visited by a family friend, identified as Patrick Mallia, who continued to visit him throughout his stay.

It transpired that during the visits, Emanuel Balzan used to lament with Mallia that his family had abandoned him and that he needed money for an operation he needed done in a private hospital.

Balzan was discharged from hospital and moved in with Mallia, who also lent him his car, clothes and also gave him €2,175.

When the singer moved out of Mallia’s home, he returned a damaged car and the clothes, but not the money, saying that he used it for check-ups at St. James Hospital.

Evidence produced by the prosecution showed that Emanuel Balzan was last at St. James Hospital in 2006 and was never seen again there.