Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/769023
2 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 4 JANUARY 2017 News London-based chef pleads guilty to inadvertently circulating false currency A man visiting family in Malta found himself in hot water when he used fake banknotes in good faith, after they were given to him by a travel companion MATTHEW AGIUS A chef from the UK, visiting fam- ily in Malta, will be leaving with an unpleasant taste in his mouth after unfamiliarity with euro banknotes landed him in trouble with the law. Magistrate Audrey Demicoli was told that London-based chef Ter- ence Saliba had been reported to the police when he had attempted to use euro banknotes that he had been given by someone else. Saliba, 23, pleaded guilty to a sin- gle charge of inadvertently circu- lating false currency. The offence, which was only in- troduced into the Maltese Crimi- nal Code last year, strangely does not require the offender to be aware of the fact that he or she is circulating false currency, any lack of awareness serving only to miti- gate punishment. Defence lawyer Edward Gatt ex- plained to the court that the ac- cused worked as a chef in London and had come to Malta to visit his father. A travel companion, who had returned to the UK before him, had given Saliba the fake banknotes, which had been used in good faith, he said. Police inspector Nikolai Sant, who prosecuted together with in- spector Matthew Vella, confirmed that the accused had cooperated fully and had apologised for the offence. Saliba had claimed not to have been aware that the bank- notes were fake, the officer report- ed, and had told officers that had he known they were fake, he would not have used them. The court conditionally dis- charged Saliba for three years. The banknotes were passed on to the Central Bank for analysis, after which they will be destroyed. Court is not day care for criminals' children, magistrate says Sham landlord repays victims, conditionally discharged MATTHEW AGIUS CRIMINALS cannot hold up their children as reasons for miti- gation of punishment, a court has ruled as it sentenced a widower from Sliema to eight months im- prisonment for stealing. This was conviction number 31 for Glen Debattista, 57, a ca- reer criminal who has previously served time in prison for theft, fraud and forgery. In his latest case, Debattista had been charged in connection with a break-in at a Ta' Qali ware- house operated by Ceramart in April 2008, after the police found his fingerprints at the scene. De- battista was called in for ques- tioning after the police were in- formed of the fingerprint match in 2013. During his interrogation, Deb- attista had admitted to carrying out the break-in and was subse- quently charged. On the witness stand last July, Debattista had claimed to have been playing football with his children near the warehouse on the day of the crime. While re- trieving a football which had broken a window and ended up inside the warehouse, he had helped himself to seven boxes of 'shades' from the warehouse which, he said, he thought was abandoned. Debattista told the court that he had intended to sell them at the open air market. The defence had argued that the appropriation of abandoned objects did not qualify as theft. The court was not convinced that the objects had been aban- doned, however. Magistrate Con- suelo Scerri Herrera noted that important details in his story had changed – he had first told po- lice that he had noticed the open warehouse door after taking his children home. While the warehouse had been neglected, it had not been aban- doned, held the magistrate. The charge of theft stood. Noting his long list of previous convictions, the court observed that the accused had not used the opportunities afforded to him by his previous suspended sentenc- es and probation orders. A custo- dial sentence was inescapable in this case, the magistrate said. The defence's claims that De- battista had since changed his ways and was the sole living par- ent of three young children due to his wife's passing away drew little sympathy from the court. Magistrate Scerri Herrera did not mince her words as she con- demned the man to eight months in jail. The accused had brought the situation upon himself, she said, insisting that "this court is not here to take care of the children of people who insist on leading a life of crime". MATTHEW AGIUS A woman who convinced seven persons to pay rent deposits on a flat which was not hers was con- ditionally discharged after admit- ting to the charges. 46-year-old Sandra Cachia from Vittoriosa was arraigned under arrest last November, charged with defrauding the would-be tenants out of a total of just under €3,000. During that arraignment, pros- ecuting police inspector Christa- belle Chetcuti had told the court Cachia had been investigated after the police received a report that she had been advertising a flat for rent on Facebook, pocket- ing the deposits and then vanish- ing. Between 19 and 22 Septem- ber, Cachia had defrauded seven victims, who then filed a police report. She was eventually appre- hended and taken into custody in early November. Cachia's lawyer, Emmy Bezzina, had told the court that the woman was suffering from mental and physical health issues and had a problematic relationship with her 80-year-old father, who was described in court as controlling and strict. Despite initially denying the charges, Cachia later changed her plea and filed an admission, hav- ing also refunded the deposits to her victims. The Court, presided by magis- trate Antonio Micallef Trigona conditionally discharged the woman for a period of one year. Seven victims were defrauded between 19 and 22 September