Car dealer guilty of forging two car licenses

A Court of Appeal convicted car dealer Carmelo Bianco, director of Western Company Ltd of using forged licenses on two vehicles found in his possession in 2001, upholding the judgment of a previous court.

After two vehicles were found in Bianco’s possession with forged licenses, he was charged with operating a car dealership in B’Kara without a commercial license, forging of documents and defrauding the Maltese Government.

The accused was convicted of making use of forged car licenses, but acquitted of the other charges. Upon conviction, Bianco was fined €233 and handed a three-year conditional discharge. He appealed the judgment.

The defense counsel argued that evidence exhibited by the prosecution did not exclusively prove he used the two forged licences found on cars in his possession.

After selling a vehicle, Bianco had towed it back to his garage after learning it had been abandoned. The accused held he did not have the vehicle’s keys as he had sold it. The defense explained he could not be legally responsible to what was inside the car especially since he had no means to check what it contained.

Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi stated the court would not amend a previous judgment unless there is proof that the first court misinterpreted evidence.

One of the vehicles found in Bianco’s possession was registered to his name.

“There is no doubt the license found on the car is forged, a fact which was also visible. But the Transport Directorate also confirmed the car’s license had lapsed in 2000 and was not renewed,” the court said.

The other vehicle is registered to Raphael Baldacchino. The license on this car lapsed in April 2001 and is ripped were the date is printed. Whilst Bianco claimed the license was renewed, the court treated the document as having been tampered with since the printed date was torn.

“The court cannot accept Bianco’s arguments that he did not use the documents as these were stuck to the car windscreens, and there was no need for him to use them elsewhere. This is proof enough,” Judge Mizzi said.