Jailed for perjury

A 34-year-old man was jailed for three years after a magistrate found him guilty of lying under oath on two separate occasions and for the simple possession of cannabis.

Magistrate Giovanni Grixti found Addie Magri, of Senglea, guilty of lying under oath when he testified that he had bought drugs from a certain James Dalton - who was eventually charged with drug trafficking.

He was also found guilty of lying when he took the stand in the case against Mr Dalton and said he did not recall who he had bought the drugs from.

Magistrate Grixti heard how in 1996 Mr Magri was found in possession of 10 sachets of heroin. He told the police he bought the drugs from Mr Dalton and later confirmed this under oath.

Mr Magri eventually pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him and was jailed for two years and fined Lm200. The magistrate handing down judgement had noted that the accused had cooperated with the police.

Based on Mr Magri's testimony, the police arraigned Mr Dalton and charged him with dealing in drugs. But when Mr Magri was called to testify in the case against Mr Dalton, he said he did not remember from whom he had bought the drugs. Consequently, the court cleared Mr Dalton of all charges and ordered that Mr Magri be charged with perjury.

Mr Magri was then charged with lying under oath during the compilation of evidence against him when he said he had bought drugs from Mr Dalton and, in a separate charge, he was charged with lying in the case against Mr Dalton when he said he did not remember.

He was also charged with the simple possession of cannabis resin and relapsing.

The magistrate heard Lawyer Jason Azzopardi, for Mr Magri, argue that the two perjury charges were two alternative charges and, quoting case law, he argued that he could not be found guilty of both.

But Magistrate Grixti recited the same case law quoted by the lawyer and ruled that the charges were separate and found Mr Magri guilty on both counts.

On evaluating the evidence, the magistrate also found him guilty of possession of cannabis and relapsing.

The magistrate handed down judgement after evaluating several legal submissions made by the defence lawyer. The magistrate noted that the points brought up by the defence were based on "several observations that were completely wrong and even absurd".

The magistrate disregarded the submissions and moved on to decide the case on its merits. He jailed Mr Magri for three years and ordered his general interdiction for five years.

Police Superintendent Neil Harrison prosecuted.