Wardija man accused of forging land contract

A notary realised that a contract he was meant to have drafted had been forged when a fellow notary faxed him a copy with a query, a court heard yesterday.

Notary John Debono said he was faxed a copy of the contract by Notary Ian Spiteri and he immediately realised that the layout was different and the signature on it was not his.

He said he called the notary to the government, Dr Franco Pellegrini, and asked him to look up the original contract in the archives and fax it to him.

The contract faxed by Notary Spiteri, he said, showed that Dr Patrick Spiteri had paid Lm100,000 for land in Wardija.

But the second fax from Dr Pellegrini showed that Dr Spiteri still owed Lm50,000.

Notary Debono testified before Magistrate Joseph Cassar in the compilation of evidence against Dr Spiteri, 37, of Wardija, who is pleading not guilty to forging a contract and the signature of Notary Debono and defrauding Emanuel Muscat.

Notary Debono was followed to the witness stand by Notary Ian Spiteri who explained that his clients, Emanuel Muscat and his wife, wanted to buy a piece of land called Tal-Bajjada on Wardija Hill, limits of Burmarrad.

The land, he explained, belonged to Foresight Holdings Limited and Dr Patrick Spiteri was one of the directors of the company.

Notary Spiteri went on to explain that originally Dr Spiteri had bought the Wardija land from Carmel Muscat for Lm100,000. Carmel Muscat, he explained, was not related to Emanuel Muscat or his wife.

The contract of that purchase had been drafted by Notary Debono.

While he was working on the promise of sale agreement for the Muscats, he phoned Dr Patrick Spiteri and asked him for a copy of the contract in order to verify exactly where the property was and to check that everything was in line with the law.

"Dr Patrick Spiteri left a copy of the contract with my clerk, George Muscat, who handed it to me the next morning," Notary Ian Spiteri said.

"When I compared that contract to other research material about the land I noticed a discrepancy. The contract Dr Patrick Spiteri had given me showed that the land had been paid off. But other documents showed that he still owed Lm50,000.

"I phoned Notary Debono to ask him about the discrepancy and he eventually confirmed that there was one. I also spoke to Dr Patrick Spiteri and he told me that as far as he knew the balance was to be settled and Notary Antoine Agius was meant to look after it."

Notary Ian Spiteri also said that the contract between Foresight Holdings Limited and the Muscats had not yet been signed.

Emanuel Muscat said he sold building materials in Wardija for a living. On one occasion Paul Busuttil went to buy some items and encouraged him to buy the neighbouring property from Dr Spiteri.

Emanuel Muscat said he spoke to Dr Spiteri who agreed to sell a part of the land to him for Lm16,000. He paid him Lm2,000 in advance.

He then went to Notary Spiteri to draft the promise of sale agreement between him and Dr Spiteri. But eventually the notary informed him that something had gone wrong and the agreement fell through.

Carmel Muscat, a pensioner, said that he had sold the Wardija property to Dr Patrick Spiteri for Lm100,000 and that when they signed the contract the lawyer paid Lm50,000.

They agreed that he would pay the remaining Lm50,000 and the interest within the next two years. But Carmel Muscat said that he had not yet been paid.

The case continues.

Police Inspector Bernard Zarb is prosecuting.

Dr Emmanuel Mallia and Dr Giannella Caruana Curran are appearing for Dr Patrick Spiteri.