Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/193056
9 News maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 16 OCTOBER 2013 Man acquitted over police mistake CHRIS MANGION THE wrong date on a charge sheet resulted in acquittal of a man accused of usury. Inspector Maurice Curmi arraigned Rodney Ciantar, 37, of Senglea charging of demanding extortionate repayments from Raymond Psaila after he lent him the sum of €6,988 (Lm3,000). The charge read that the related offences took place in December 2010 and also during prior months and years. However the accused contested the charges, saying he was owed money which was never paid back. The case dates back to September 2006, when Psaila asked Ciantar to lend him cash. Psaila claimed he asked for €6,988 and agreed to pay it back in seven weeks. However, two days later, Ciantar demanded the whole amount back. The alleged victim was not in a position to pay €6,988, so the two signed an agreement reading Ciantar was owed €18,635 (Lm8,000). At the same time Psaila received another document from Ciantar outlining a weekly repayment schedule spread over seven weeks from the date he was lent money. The two kept arguing over the amount to be paid until Psaila filed a report at the fraud squad. The police spoke to Ciantar who insisted he had lent Psaila €18,635. Psaila did not return to the police and no charges were issued in that year. On 15 January 2007, Psaila and Ciantar signed a deed in the presence of a notary, stating the latter was owed €18,635. The amount had to be paid in three payments by end of June the same year. Once more, Psaila did not honour the payment schedule and rushed back to the police, claiming he was a victim of usury. Ciantar was interviewed at the Police HQ. In his statement, he reiterated that Psaila had only paid him €4,700 from the €18,635 he owed him. Magistrate Doreen Clarke argued the charge sheet read that the offence was committed in December 2010. This was incorrect, as the evidence exhibited in court showed Ciantar had lent money to Psaila in 2006, not 2010. "The only event taking place in 2010 was Psaila's return to the police to file a second report. Hence Ciantar committed no offence at the time shown on the charge sheet," the court held. Furthermore, the court stated that when drawing charges the prosecution cannot rely on the term 'and previous years and weeks' but needs to give well-defined time frames of when the alleged crime was committed. Man who threatened suicide to ward off Italian surgeon acquitted police jailed for stabbing girlfriend of involuntary homicide Man who last year spent hours threatening officers with Second surgeon charged with involuntarily killing a patient in jumping off a flagpole is jailed for three years after 2006 is cleared of all charges pleading guilty to trying to kill his former girlfriend NOEL Calleja, 33, of Santa Venera, was jailed for three years after admitting to having attempted to kill his former partner, and seriously injuring her back in 2011. On the night of 10 July 2011, at around 11.30pm the accused assaulted his partner, Josianne Bonnici, in Triq Sir Ugo Mifsud, Ta' Xbiex. During the assault, Calleja threatened Bonnici with a knife and also stabbed her in the neck and arms. The man was 31 years old at the time of the incident. The accused pleaded guilty to charges of attempted murder, being in possession of a knife and relapsing. Magistrate Audrey Demicoli jailed Calleja for three years and issued a three-year protection order for Josianne Bonnici. Calleja was also ordered to pay €305 in court expenses. In September of last year, Calleja allegedly stabbed MMDNA nurse Jacqueline Dipasquale, 44, of Swieqi. The incident happened after the two argued in a parked car in the area known as Ta' Farsina in Qormi. The nurse was left lying face down in a pool of blood. Her colleague, 18, who happened to be in the car as well, called for help. After more than 14 hours on the run, Calleja was arrested at a farm in Qormi. After his capture, he accompanied officers to a block of CHRIS MANGION Noel Calleja had threatened to commit suicide in a bid to ward off police officers apartments at the Ta' Farsina Housing Estate to retrieve his weapon. While on the roof, he escaped, jumped over a ledge onto the top part of a third-floor balcony, and sat on the horizontal flagpole jutting out into thin air. After spending five hours threat- ening to jump off the flagpole, the man put his trust in a magistrate and edged back to safety. The weapon was never found. Proceedings over this stabbing are ongoing. Lawyers Veronique Dalli and Dean Hili appeared for the accused. AN Italian surgeon accused of involuntarily killing a patient has been acquitted by Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit. The surgeon, who was previously named by MaltaToday, left Malta in 2007 and later moved to the United Kingdom. The case dates back to September 2006, when a patient was operated upon the day after being admitted to hospital. The patient was kept at hospital for three months due to ensuing complications, however he passed away on Christmas Day of the same year. A Maltese surgeon was also involved in the medical intervention. Following a complaint by the victim's relatives the police charged the surgeons with involuntary homicide. Following a four-year inquiry, the Attorney General's office ruled there were enough grounds for the charges to be brought against the two surgeons. The proceedings were heard in camera. Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit concluded that the surgeon's intervention was not related to the fatality. The court also banned the publication of his name and other details that could help identify him. Late last month, on 20 September, Magistrate Edwina Grima also ac- quitted the Maltese surgeon, saying he had done all within his knowledge to safeguard the patient's life. "He was neither negligent nor careless," the magistrate said. Inspector Kevin Farrugia prosecuted both cases, while lawyer Steve Tonna Lowell appeared for the two surgeons.