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6 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 2 MARCH 2022 NEWS MATTHEW AGIUS THE case against a Chinese woman accused of running a brothel in Balzan has been sent back to the Court of Magistrates after her lawyers highlighted a technical flaw in the proceed- ings. Lin Han, a Hamrun resident, used to manage the Honey Girl Beauty Spa in Balzan, which would offer massage services as well as added sexual favours at an additional premium. The premises were raided on 3 February 2013, where police found three Chinese women, contraceptives and sex toys. In- side a BMW X3 belonging to Han, police had also found 92 condoms. Han was subsequently arrest- ed and claimed to only be the receptionist, but further investi- gations had found that she was a shareholder together with Tony Vassallo in the operating compa- ny, TMC. Vassallo had been de- scribed in court as "mafia" by one of the trafficked women. Han had been found guilty of offences relating to human traf- ficking and benefiting from pros- titution in 2020 and sentenced to five years behind bars, as well as having €24,000 in cash found at the brothel confiscated. Han had filed an appeal, argu- ing that the punishment was too severe. Yesterday, Mr. Justice Aaron Bugeja handed down his deci- sion, partially upholding the ap- peal. He observed that at a later stage in proceedings, Han's law- yer Franco Debono had raised the argument that the minutes of the sitting dated 1 April 2016 showed how the Court of Mag- istrates, following the remittance of the acts of the proceedings by the Attorney General in terms of the Criminal Code, had simply proceeded by adjourning the case to a later date without asking the accused whether she was object- ing to her case being dealt with summarily before the Court of Magistrates as a Court of Crim- inal Judicature. Countering this, the Attorney General had submitted that this plea had not been raised at any previous stage of proceedings and had not even been mentioned in the appeal application. Further- more, the appellant had "always behaved in such a way as to sug- gest that she was submitting her- self to the judgment of the Court of Magistrates as a court of crim- inal judicature and was not ob- jecting to be tried summarily by the same." The AG also argued that the Criminal Code did not contem- plate the nullity of proceedings as a consequence of a defect in the required formalities. Instead, the Criminal Court was to quash the judgment and determine the case on its merits, she said. In his decision, Mr. Justice Bugeja noted that his court was legally empowered to raise the issue of procedural defects ex of- ficio and without the input of any of the parties. The judge cited case law which had held that cumulative proce- dural shortcomings in criminal proceedings "are a form of lex processualis error which hits di- rectly at one of the cardinal and basic rights of the accused in criminal proceedings. As such this would qualify as a matter of public order as it affects the basic principles on which the conduct of criminal proceedings and the rights of defence of an accused person are based." The court also pointed out that the formality of asking whether the accused objected to summa- ry judgment or not were aimed at ensuring that the conversion of the Court of Magistrate as a Court of Criminal Inquiry into a Court of Criminal Judicature took place "only if the accused categorically declares that he finds no objection for his case to be decided summarily by that Court and his declaration is min- uted by the Court in the records of the proceedings." Such a conversion had to take place at the written request of the Attorney General, after the charges are read out and the per- son charged states whether there are objections to the case being dealt with summarily, said the judge. Only then does the court be- come competent to pass its sen- tence on the accused. "Clearly these are sine qua non require- ments," reads the judgment. The judge disagreed with the AG's argument that the appellant had tacitly accepted the court's jurisdiction by participating in the proceedings. The law did not allow the silence of a person ac- cused to be taken as tantamount to positive consent, said Mr. Justice Bugeja, ruling that in the absence of this declaration the Court of Magistrates "cannot be considered to have acquired ju- risdiction over the case." The lack of adherence to the procedure laid out in the Crim- inal Code was not "merely a breach or omission of any for- mality but hits at the very heart of the correct administration of justice," ruled the judge, declar- ing the proceedings undertaken before the Court of Magistrates as from 1 April 2016 onwards, including the judgment delivered by the Court of Magistrates on the 24th September 2020 to be null and void. Revoking the judgment, the court ordered that the records of the proceedings be transmitted back before the Court of Magis- trates in order for the proceed- ings against the appellant to con- tinue from the date of filing of the formal accusatory document by the Attorney General in accord- ance with the law. Balzan brothel owner's case to be re-heard over technicality THE UĦM Voice of the Work- ers has ordered industrial action at the Attorney General's office after government halted collec- tive agreement talks because of the election. The union said the principal permanent secretary issued a blanket directive to halt all ne- gotiations on collective agree- ments irrespective at what stage they arrived. The talks regarding work con- ditions at the AG had been going on for months and were at a very advanced stage. The union said it had always been normal practice that talks at an advanced stage would con- tinue irrespective of an election for the benefit of workers in- volved. UHM CEO Josef Vella said it is not right for government to con- tinue prolonging the discussions after dragging its feet for months. The union has asked for a for- mal meeting with the principal permanent secretary on pending collective agreement discussions that came to an abrupt halt. "The government's decision to continue negotiations after the election is creating uncertain- ty among workers because the election can bring about chang- es among politicians and civil service people involved in the talks," Vella said. UHM industrial action at AG office UHM CEO Josef Vella says the abrupt stoppage of collective agreement talks goes against normal practice 86 new COVID-19 cases were registered on Tuesday, figures pub- lished by the Health Ministry show. No deaths occurred in the last 24-hours, with the total number of deaths standing at 605. Active cases stand at 741 after 64 recoveries were registered. There are currently 38 coronavirus patients being cared for at Mater Dei Hospital, of which three are in the ITU. Until yesterday, 1,242,888 vaccine doses were administered, of which 343,111 were booster doses. COVID-19 Three patients in ITU, 86 new cases registered