General interdiction confirmed for legal procurator who filed false police report

The Court of Criminal Appeal has confirmed a sentence imposing general interdiction on a Legal Procurator for filing a false police report about her husband.

The punishment is meted out to individuals who abuse public office and disqualifies the person from holding any similar office or from employment in general.

58-year-old Juanita Fenech had filed an appeal after she was found guilty in 2014 of fabricating evidence and knowingly making a false report to the police. She had been sentenced to a three-year probation order as well as being interdicted for 10 years.

From the evidence, it became apparent that she had reported being a victim of domestic violence at the hands of her estranged husband, who was subsequently prosecuted and spent 17 days in custody before being granted bail.

She had then reported that the man had breached one of his bail conditions by approaching her, when in fact he had been at home with his family.

Prosecuting police inspector Elton Taliana had explained how on 5 November 2010, Fenech had filed a police report claiming that whilst she had been taking out the rubbish, her husband had passed by in a car and stopped near her, rolled down the window and insulted her, telling her that he would not allow their son to testify. This would have constituted a breach of his bail conditions.

The police had investigated the report but were told by the husband that he hadn’t even left the house at the times she specified and this was confirmed by family members with whom he had moved in, pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings.

The police had also checked CCTV and phone localisation data to see whether Fenech had gone to the area in question and it emerged that he hadn't

The Court of Appeal, presided by Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera upheld the decision of the court of first instance, saying that it was clear that the legal procurator had committed the crime of calumnious accusation and that the first court had given her a punishment close to the minimum for this.

Lawyer Joe Giglio was defence counsel. Lawyer Kathleen Grima appeared for the accused’s husband.