Three cleared of perjury due to irrelevant testimony

Magistrate Joe Mifsud, presiding the Court of Magistrates in Gozo, highlighted the growing number of trivial perjury complaints filed in Gozo. 

Three witnesses charged with perjury in a civil case have been acquitted after a court held that their testimony was irrelevant to the case's outcome.

Magistrate Joe Mifsud, presiding the Court of Magistrates in Gozo, highlighted the growing number of trivial perjury complaints filed in Gozo. He warned against the courts being used to entrench divisions, adding that the police needed to treat such cases with care if they wanted to prevent abuse.

Magistrate Mifsud decided a civil case instituted by Maurice Hili seeking compensation from Francis Attard, Carmel Attard and Carmel Vella, for the injuries sustained in an incident that had occurred in August 2001.

Hili’s son, daughter and her husband had requested the court's permission to testify about a separate unrelated incident, in order to clear Hili’s name.

The Attard brothers then accused the Hilis of having perjured themselves.

In his ruling, the Magistrate expressed distaste for this practice, quipping that the courts was not a washing machine for persons' reputations.

The civil court should have never upheld Hili’s request as it had no relevance to his compensation claim, the court noted.

Irrespective of whether the witnesses had been telling the truth, the offence of perjury did not subsist as their evidence had no bearing on the case's outcome.

Inspector Bernard Charles Spiteri prosecuted. Lawyer Georgina Schembri appeared for the defendants.