A Swieqi man was yesterday conditionally discharged for two years for forging cheques after a magistrate ruled that the people whose signatures had been forged had not suffered any financial losses from the crime.

Magistrate Noel Cuschieri however cleared Walter Zammit of fraud after ruling that the matter concerned creditors who were unable to cash cheques and the matter should be resolved in a civil forum.

Magistrate Cuschieri heard how Zammit, 54, a businessman, had gone through financial difficulties and was being chased by a loan shark when he forged the cheques. He was also under pressure from creditors.

Zammit told the court he had forged the signature of a relative after blank signed cheques left by his in-law, Emanuel Camilleri, ran out. Camilleri told the court that he had not been cheated of any money.

Zammit also admitted forging his son's signature on some cheques but explained that they shared the same business. For these reasons, the magistrate ruled that none of the forgeries had led to fraud.