Jailed for defaming police inspector

A man of Libyan origin was jailed for two months yesterday for defaming a police officer but was cleared of kidnapping his son after a magistrate ruled it had not been proven that the wife had exclusive custody of the child.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera cleared the 30-year-old man of kidnapping his son, who was 19 months old at the time, from the custody of his 19-year-old Maltese wife on October 6.

She found the man guilty, however, of defaming Police Inspector Mario Tonna when he claimed the inspector had filed a false report at St Julians police station later that day.

Magistrate Scerri Herrera heard how, on October 6, a 19-year-old woman and her mother filed a police report claiming the daughter's husband had gone to their house and taken her son away. Inspector Tonna called the man on his mobile phone and told him to report at the St Julians police station. The man, who at the time was at the Msida police station, went to St Julians with the boy.

The inspector said the boy had two cigarette burns on his cheek and the mother said that it was the accused that caused the burns.

He added that, while at the police station, the man had alleged that Inspector Tonna had filed a false report.

The magistrate heard that the accused and the young woman had married at the mosque in Malta earlier this year and had a son.

She also heard the accused explain how he had gone to pick up his son from his mother-in-law's house to take him to the playground. He had gone there by car.

His wife, who did not feel like going with them, handed over the boy to him. As there was another car behind him he started the car to go round the block but then his mother-in-law started throwing insults at him as she had done earlier. He then drove to the Msida police station to file a report on what had happened.

The man admitted he had caused the injuries on the boy's face when he hit him accidentally. He had then taken the boy to the health centre for treatment.

On evaluating the evidence, the magistrate noted that there was no doubt that a mountain had been made out of a molehill as the case started from a misunderstanding which ended up with the police getting involved.

She ruled that it did not result that the mother had exclusive custody of the child which meant that it had to be presumed that the parents held joint custody. Therefore the man could not be found guilty of kidnapping his son.

Besides, the man had gone straight to the Msida police station and cooperated with the police when he was asked to go to the St Julians station.

Although it resulted that the boy had two circular wounds on the face, the magistrate could not find the father guilty as the charge depended on a complaint being filed and the mother had not complained.

The magistrate however found the man guilty of defaming the inspector. After noting his criminal record - which showed that he had been previously convicted for causing injuries and for drug possession - she jailed him for two months and ordered that the time spent in preventive custody be deducted from the jail term.

Names are not being published to protect the identity of the child.

Police Inspector Mario Tonna prosecuted.