Harsher penalties for racial crimes

A draft Bill proposing amendments to the Criminal Code aims to make crimes of a racial nature subject to harsher penalties.

The Bill, announced yesterday, defines the term racial as including not just colour or creed but also crimes committed against a person assisting others of different beliefs.

Speaking at a press conference, Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg explained that if, for example, a case of arson is committed against someone assisting immigrants and it is proved that the attack was motivated by racism, the punishment would be harsher than a mere case of arson.

The proposed amendments come in the wake of a series of arson attacks against Jesuits and their employees who assist refugees and against two journalists.

Victims have linked the attacks to racist elements although no evidence of this has yet emerged.

Dr Borg did not refer to these cases during the press conference.

According to the Bill, those bringing people to Malta to engage in prostitution can now be charged under the White Slave Traffic Act and the Police Commissioner may close down for three months the establishment where the soliciting takes place even before the case is decided by the court.

The Bill will start being debated in Parliament on Tuesday. Dr Borg said several changes were designed to make the justice system more efficient and less costly.

The Bill proposes that those who are robbed and whose stolen items are found will be able to claim them back without too much hassle. As the law stands, recovered stolen goods are exhibited in court and the accused or his lawyer have the right to make the owner wait until the case is over to attempt to get them back. This was creating an injustice and burdening the police and the courts with the responsibility of storing the exhibits, Dr Borg said.

The draft also proposes that it will no longer be mandatory for the courts to impose a minimum six-month prison sentence for drug sharing. As the law stands, a person caught sharing a drug can be charged with drug possession or trafficking.

A structure is being proposed through which victims of crime would be eligible for compensation where the aggressor is unknown or where the aggressor has insufficient financial means. The government intends to introduce this gradually, starting with the more serious crimes. The law will also empower the minister to draw up a list with a range of expenses that would have to be paid, as part of the fine imposed, by people found guilty.

This would offset the cost of the trial. The Minister argued that it was not fair for society to pay for the trial of a criminal who would have made money by illicit means.

To make it easier for minors to give evidence in court, the Bill proposes they should testify only once and that the testimony would be recorded.

The testimony of an accomplice no longer needs to be corroborated but the court may direct the jury about such evidence, according to the proposed law.

The testimony of certain people, in cases where the need arises to establish whether a weapon is licensed or not, will only be given once and unless there is a need for a cross examination, such evidence will continue to hold until the case is decided, even in the Appeals Court.

It is also proposed that a person found guilty of committing serious crime and who is accused again of a similar crime within 10 years will not be granted bail.

Prison sentences in the case of criminal libel will be removed.