Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1463840
6 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 6 APRIL 2022 NEWS 2022 ELECTION MATTHEW AGIUS THE Court of Appeal has confirmed a court's dismissal of a request for the re- lease of two jet-skis seized by Customs in 2013 after an attempt to smuggle them on board a cargo ship sailing from Malta to Libya. Paul Attard, a shipping entrepreneur who is fighting extradition to Italy on charges relating to the smuggling of 10 tonnes of cannabis, had denied trying to illegally export the jet-skis, which had not been listed on the cargo manifest, claiming they were personal posses- sions of his not subject to any declara- tion requirements. Attard filed proceedings against the Director of Customs in 2013, after the pleasure craft were seized by the Mal- tese customs authorities. But the case was decided against him: the court said that while every other item on the ship, from televisions all the way down to a portable calculator, had been declared amongst the ships provi- sions, the jet-skis were not. Attard was unable to tell the court the horsepower of their engines and neither were they insured, noted the judge. His claim that they had been used by the crew for fun in a Libyan port was dis- missed as "totally incredible" by that court. An appeal to that judgement was filed, in which Attard claimed that the court had based its decision on mistaken con- siderations, which did not reflect the evidence provided and had been incor- rect in its interpretation of the law. The Court of Appeal, presided by Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti and judg- es Joseph R. Micallef and Tonio Mallia, upheld the lower court's decision, not- ing that it had been correct in describ- ing Attard's claim to own the jet-skis, whilst unsure of whether they were covered by insurance despite having al- lowed the crew to use the jet skis in port as "rather incredible." On Attard's claim that the craft were not merchandise of cargo, but "goods" which did not fall within the scope of the Customs Ordinance, the court said that while it was true that not everything on board a ship was considered merchan- dise, it disagreed that the jet-skis could fail to be declared. The judges said that while other seacraft that were being transported aboard the vessel had been listed on the manifest, the jet-skis had not been so declared. The law was clear in stating that un- declared items on board which were discovered by Customs had to be con- fiscated, ruled the court, adding that the fact that they had not been declared raised its suspicions as to why they were there in the first place. The court said it was unconvinced by the "fun rides" explanation given by At- tard. The appeal was dismissed by the court which also ordered that the costs of both the initial case as well as the appeal be borne by Attard. Smuggled jet-skis were 'for fun', claimed shipper fighting extradition to Italy MATTHEW AGIUS AN Ghaxaq hair salon's land- lord has been convicted of steal- ing thousands of euros worth of electricity from his tenant. Francis Vassallo, 67, had been investigated by the police and subsequently charged with elec- tricity theft in 2020 after his ten- ant, the operator of a hair salon situated underneath Vassallo's home, noted that the exorbitant electricity bills she had been re- ceiving had not decreased during the COVID-19 shutdown. Tenants John Paul Cesare and his wife Louisa had testified be- fore magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, explaining that they had realised they were being robbed when, during the COVID-19 pandemic mandatory shutdown, they had noticed the salon's elec- tricity metre consumption light blinking despite all appliances having been disconnected. Contacted by the tenants, an Enemalta representative recom- mended they inform the police. This they did, filing a report at the Zejtun police station, but nobody was sent to verify their claims, noted the court. The Cesares will have to file a separate civil case for damag- es to get their money back. The court said it was not in a position to quantify the exact amount of electricity stolen. Investigators discovered that a hidden electrical connection to the mains switch was concealed in the property's shaft, which the tenants had no access to. John Paul Cesare explained that they had been receiving elec- tricity bills varying from €400 to €600. The couple had engaged an electrician to inspect the proper- ty, discovering a wire embedded in the wall, which led to Vassal- lo's shaft. When confronted with this fact, the accused denied any wrongdoing and invited the ten- ants to "open a court case." He said he had heard drilling noises from Vassallo's side af- ter the confrontation and before the police informed him that he would be charged. Court experts appointed to as- sist the inquiry had confirmed to the court that the wire in the shaft led to the mains circuit breaker in the accused's property. "He told the man [the accused] to hand him a lightbulb so that it could be connected to the wire. Once the mains switch was turned on, so did the lightbulb. The lightbulb was in his private residence." The expert also testified to see- ing the electricity meter light blinking despite the salon being disconnected. Another electrical engineer confirmed to the court that the meter was functioning correctly. The court said it had no doubt that the drilling noises from next door, right after being confront- ed, were made by the defendant as he was trying to remove all traces leading to him. Experts had also reported finding fresh plaster covering the trench dug in the wall through which the elec- trical cables were passed. It also observed that in 2005, the tenants had paid the accused, their landlord, Lm2,300 (€5,357) to install the water and electricity connections. The court said that in his tes- timony, Vassallo had attempted to give the impression that the plaster was not fresh, but the court-appointed engineer had observed that although the plas- ter was not new, not much time had passed since it was laid. Magistrate Frendo Dimech was entirely unconvinced by the defendant's attempts to explain away the evidence against him, saying that he had failed to bring "even a crumb of evidence" to support his explanations. She re- marked that it was obvious that Vassallo had tried to cover his tracks during the five months which passed from the initial confrontation with the Cesares in April 2020 to the inspection in September 2020. The court said it was unfortu- nate that the fact that Vassal- lo had been called to the police station in April 2020 had only served to tip him off about the re- port filed against him, giving him time to try and cover his tracks. Finding him guilty of the charge, the court moved on to deliberate on punishment, noting that the accused had found no difficulty in stealing from the very same people who were paying him to earn a living. In addition to this, it observed that at no time had Vassallo shown any remorse or attempted to compensate the victims and that the crime was a continuous offence, meriting an increase in punishment. Vassallo was sentenced to im- prisonment for 15 months and suspended for three years. He was also ordered to bear the costs of the case. Lawyer Lennox Vella was de- fence counsel, whilst lawyer Ed- ward Gatt represented the victim in the proceedings. In comments to MaltaToday, Louise Cesare said that the cou- ple had to be treated for depres- sion because of the man's actions, adding that she felt especially hurt by the fact that apart from the €5,000 they paid Vassallo in rent paid every year, they were also forking out money to cover inflated electricity bills because of the landlord's theft. She also lamented the lack of cooperation from the police. Landlord found guilty of stealing electricity from hair salon tenant