Sliema bar owner cleared of hosting illegal gambling

A string of prosecutorial shortcomings has resulted in the owner of a Sliema bar being cleared of hosting unlicensed gambling activities on his premises.

Time Square owner Paul Attard, 63, had been accused of making gambling-related equipment available on the premises, without a Malta Gaming Authority license, after an inspection in October 2011 found two women sitting in front of monitors in the bar, apparently gambling.

The monitors were photographed and seized as evidence.

Paul Attard’s son, also named Paul, had been in the bar at the time of the inspection, but his father was not. But it was Paul Snr who had been called in by the police for questioning, four months later. He had explained that the monitors were used for internet access, although MGA officials had later testified to having seen casino-like games on the screen.

The women who had been in the bar at the time of the inspection had also been summoned to testify. They had explained that they had bought €5 credit and when this credit had been used up, they left. The intended use of this credit, however, was not clear.

Faced with a dearth of conclusive evidence, Magistrate Ian Farrugia held that while it was probably true that the monitors had been offering gambling, as no independent technical expert had been engaged by the previous magistrate to confirm this on oath, this was not proven to the required level. The law is clear in that criminal charges must be proven beyond reasonable doubt, not on a balance of probabilities.

Neither were the reasons clear as to why Attard Snr had been charged, when it was his son who had been on the premises at the time. No link between the accused, the place and the time of the alleged offence had emerged from the evidence presented, the court held.

The accused was declared innocent of all charges.

Lawyer Gianluca Caruana Curran appeared as Attard’s defence counsel.