Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/622858
2 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 6 JANuArY 2016 News Second chance for Ecuadorian woman found guilty of forgery 22-year-old had altered the nationality on her Italian residence permit before asking for a copy of her police conduct, which was requested by a potential employer MatthEw agiuS A court has given a second chance to an Ecuadorian-born woman who altered her nation- ality on her Italian residence permit, after it heard that her application for Italian citizen- ship was still awaiting approval, 13 years after she applied for it. 22-year-old Joselyn Roman was arrested at the police head- quarters in Floriana yesterday, when she tried to obtain a po- lice conduct certificate using the altered document. She was subsequently charged with for- gery offences. Law yer Stefano Filletti ex- plained to Magistrate Anthony Vella that the woman had re- sided in Italy since childhood. Unable to find employment in Italy, the woman had arrived in Malta with her Italian partner one year ago to look for a job. And find one she did, as on the day of her arrest, Roman had just been offered employment – on the condition that she present a police conduct certificate. As the Italian authorities were still processing her applica- tion for citizenship, the woman – desperate not to let the job opportunity slip through her fingers – amended the "nation- ality" field in her residence per- mit to read "Italian". "An act of stupidity, rather than malice," was how defence law yer Stefano Filletti described the woman's actions, quoting her as having explained to him that "things start and never end in Italy." The law yer said that she had written a note explain- ing her desperation, which she had initially wanted to read in court, but had decided at the last moment that she could not face speaking. He summarised saying that she had "felt that she was a nobody and that she wanted to work ", said the law- yer. Inspector Darren Buhagiar, prosecuting, told the court that Malta was seeing an inf lux of Italian residence permit holders seeking employment here due to a dearth of opportunities in Italy. "She knew the document was fake and still presented it," said the inspector. He added that the woman had initially been uncooperative with the police, but added that "she ad- mitted, eventually". The prosecution recommend- ed a suspended sentence, add- ing that the woman should be deported to Italy. However it was pointed out that due to the reinstatement of the Schengen agreement, the woman could simply return. But Filletti objected strongly to the idea of handing the wom- an a suspended sentence, saying that it would be grossly unfair to ruin her criminal record and prejudice her for the rest of her life. "All she was asking for was a police conduct certificate, which ironically we now have in our hands and see to be clean," said the law yer, the remark elic- iting a chuckle from the magis- trate. "Her punishment is that she could not find a job," the law yer said. "She had every opportu- nity to work on the black mar- ket but chose not to... they had no place to go." He requested that the court consider hand- ing the woman a conditional discharge. In view of her admission, the court pronounced Roman guilty and conditionally discharged her for three years. Jailed thief drops charges against fellow inmate who threw scalding water at her Mat thEw agiuS A young English woman, whose rowdy arraignment for the theft of a suitcase from an airport luggage carousel made headlines last year, yesterday dropped the assault charges she had filed against a fellow inmate. Shannon Leigh Williams had reported fellow inmate Aisha Mohammed to the police for throwing scalding hot water at her during a confrontation at the Corradino Correctional Fa- cility. When the case was called be- fore Magistrate Aaron Bugeja yesterday, Williams withdrew her criminal complaint against Mohammed. The court explained to her that she would not be able to revive criminal proceedings once her complaint was withdrawn. "No, I forgive her and that's fine," Williams replied. Williams hit the headlines in July last year, being fined €200 for contempt after she refused to enter a plea and created a dis- turbance in Magistrate Carol Peralta's courtroom while she was being charged with stealing a suitcase from the airport. A month later, the woman was in court again, charged with as- saulting and grievously injuring a prison warder. She had refused to submit to a routine strip- search and elbowed a female guard in the chin, the court was told, causing a gash that re- quired stitches. Warders described Williams as a troublemaker and said prison officers had filed no fewer than 13 reports of misbehaviour in that month. She was jailed for nine months and fined €4,000 last month. The MaltaToday is told that, happily, 20-year-old Williams, has "turned her life around com- pletely" and would be leaving the island once she completes her jail term. Walking out of the courtroom, the two women could be seen giving each other a friendly hug and a peck on the cheek. Your first click of the daY www.maltatoday.com.mt Court revokes prohibition of Valletta market relocation Mat thEw agiuS A court has turned down a re- quest by the Merchants Street Business Community Associa- tion (MSBCA), that it halt the relocation of the open air market to Merchants Street. Last month the court had pro- visionally upheld an application for a warrant of prohibitory in- junction against the Minister for the Economy, asking the court to prevent him from executing the relocation plan. In August the court had heard MSBCA president Anthony Camilleri explain that Mario Cutajar, the head of the Civil Service, had told him the gov- ernment intended to relocate the market to Merchants Street. The MSBCA president told the court that Cutajar had asked him to keep the issue quiet in order not to anger monti vendors and had assured him that he would be updated on any developments. But in spite of Camilleri not being given further information about the planned relocation, he learned, through the grape- vine, that the date of relocation had been set for 14 December. A promised meeting with the minister never materialised, he added Instead, Camilleri had been contacted by One TV newsread- er Jonathan Attard who made no bones about the fact that relo- cation to Merchants Street was going to happen. Camilleri had expressed his disappointment to him, saying that the Prime Min- ister had promised him that the move would not happen. The court however held that the requirements for the issu- ing of a warrant of prohibitory injunction were not all present. Such a warrant could only be is- sued against the government if a government representative con- firmed on oath that the action complained of was in fact going to take place. Mr Justice Joseph Zammit McKeon, in his judgment on the matter, noted that ministry con- sultant Alexander Farrugia had confirmed under oath that no decision on the relocation plan had been taken as yet and that negotiations between all inter- ested parties were still under- way. The court, however, made it clear that the responsibility for the sworn declaration did not lie solely with Farrugia, but also with the minister who had del- egated his authority to him. Pedestrianised – Merchants Street in Valletta The Corradino Correctional Facility