Nursing aide’s jail term revoked on appeal

A nursing aide who had been sentenced to five months in prison over an alleged ‘act of kindness’ had his punishment commuted to a suspended sentence following an appeal by the Attorney General.

Albert Caruana had been arraigned in Court and charged with misappropriation and theft of medicines and medical equipment employed in the treatment of a diabetic patient who had not applied to receive such state benefits.

Although after his conviction before a magistrate's court in March 2015, the accused had given notice of appeal, none was filed by the lawyer representing Caruana at the time.

It was only when he received notice of the AG’s appeal and after seeking the assistance of a different lawyer, that the accused was informed that no appeal had been put forward on his behalf.

After delving into various legal issues outlined in the appeal application, the court presided over by Mr Justice Giovanni Grixti upheld the AG’s argument that there had existed no ‘special and exceptional reasons’ which merited the application of a punishment below the minimum envisaged by law.

The court observed that this was a truly “pitiful case” where Caruana’s intended gesture of kindness placed him on the wrong side of the law. Medicines and other objects used to treat the patient had been discovered in his hospital locker and car. Similar items had been found in the elderly patient's home.

The latter had even testified that were it not for the accused’s twice-monthly care, he would have faced the likely prospect of a leg amputation.

However, the court remarked that giving away what rightfully belonged to third parties, in this case the state, could not be termed an act of charity. Rather than resort to misappropriation, the accused ought to have guided the patient to seek entitlements through proper legal channels under public health schemes.

For this reason, the court upheld the appeal, confirming the finding of guilt but revoked the punishment from one of effective imprisonment to a two-year sentence suspended for two years.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia were defence counsel.