Former fireworks club official admits to misappropriation

A former fireworks club official from St Venera has been conditionally discharged and ordered to refund €980 he had held on to instead of paying for the printing of the events programme prior to the feast of the patron saint.

Malcolm Zammit, 33, from St Venera, former secretary of the 26th July Fireworks Club, was charged in August 2015 after the fireworks club filed a police report.

Magistrate Josette Demicoli had heard how Zammit, club secretary at the time, had been entrusted with €700 by the club prior to the celebration of the St Venera feast in July 2014.

The money was reportedly handed over in a sealed envelope during a meeting, and although the envelope was not opened at the time, the act was witnessed by two other members of the club.

But when the new club secretary went to collect the festivities programme from the printing house a year later, he was informed that the payment for the previous job, amounting to €980, had not yet been effected.

The club treasurer, Sharif Abdul Azziz, insisted that he had handed over the €700 to Zammit in 2014 who had then settled the difference through advertising revenue.

The court was told that when confronted by the club, Zammit had at first denied receiving the €700 but later volunteered to pay for half the printing expense.

When the club treasurer refused to make good for the other half, he then told the club that he had reached an agreement with the printing press whereby he would pay the sum himself, in monthly installments of €150.

The court, basing itself on the testimony of Zammit and that of the treasurer, declared that “there was no reason to doubt the veracity of the testimony given by Abdul Azziz.”

The court noted that the accused's friends had tried to reach an amicable settlement, organising two meetings to resolve the issue, but Zammit had failed to turn up.

After taking into consideration the nature of the offence, the accused's past brushes with the law as well as the fact that Zammit had also been dealing with family health problems at the time of the offence, the court conditionally discharged him for three years, also ordering him to pay the €980 to the fireworks club within three months.

Inspector Elliott Magro prosecuted.