Man accused of hotel thefts cleared due to inconclusive CCTV footage

A court has cleared a man accused of a series of thefts from a Sliema hotel, holding that the accused could not be clearly identified from CCTV footage and stills.

43 year-old Christopher Sammut, from Lija, had been charged with stealing valuables from at least six rooms in the Fortina hotel, between April 2011 and February 2012.

He was also charged with six counts of criminal damage, handling stolen goods, committing a crime during the operative period of a suspended sentence and relapsing.

The objects stolen are reportedly worth a total of almost €11,000. The hotel had refunded the guests at its own expense, as its insurance policy at the time did not cover these incidents.

Police investigations began to focus on the accused after CCTV footage showed a man, purporting to be the accused, going in and out of the hotel lobby on dates corresponding with the thefts.

The security footage also shows a vehicle, which the prosecution alleged had been leased to the accused, being parked in the hotel’s parking area on the same dates. In one piece of footage, a man is seen entering the vehicle.

However in the report submitted by court expert Dr Steven Farrugia Sacco, he describes the CCTV pictures as not being sufficiently clear to indicate the possible identity of the person entering the reception area. Neither could the driver of the suspect vehicle be identified.

Magistrate Audrey Demicoli noted that the court was faced with a situation where the victims were unable to testify, as they had since left the island. The court cleared the accused, ruling that the evidence, as submitted, was only sufficient to arouse suspicion and did not prove the accusations beyond reasonable doubt.

Lawyer Edward Gatt represented the man. Inspectors Jesmond Micallef and Jason Francis Sultana prosecuted.