Claudia Calleja
Poker player gets more than he gambled for
A poker player got more than he gambled for when curiosity led him into a "brothel" where he was allegedly pulled inside and robbed of the night's winnings.
"It was an unwise decision to have a look," James Edward Mercieca testified yesterday as he described the series of events that allegedly led to him being cleaned out of €330 by two women and a man armed with a knife in Gżira last Wednesday.
Mr Mercieca, of Maltese origin who lives in Australia, was testifying during the arraignment of Charles Debono, 43, of Msida, who pleaded not guilty to complicity in robbing Mr Mercieca.
Mr Debono is also charged with holding Mr Mercieca against his will, using violence to force him to do his bidding and carrying a knife without a licence.
Mr Mercieca told Magistrate Antonio Mizzi that he was on holiday and was staying at his aunt's in Gżira. This was his third visit to the island. Last Wednesday, he and a cousin went to a casino to play poker because he was a professional poker player. At about midnight, both of them decided to head home. He called his aunt to let her know he would be home soon and she told him she was having an ice cream on the Gżira front.
He asked his cousin to drop him off near the front so that he would meet his aunt. As he was walking, he heard a woman call out to him from across the road. It was dark so he crossed to see what she wanted. He realised she was a prostitute when she offered him sex for money. He declined the offer and kept going.
As he was walking, another woman, dressed in red, started speaking to him saying she had a lot of beautiful women inside the premises. Driven by curiosity, he decided to have a look. However, before he knew it, he was pulled inside and was asked for €20 for having stepped indoors. He insisted he did not want anything and just wanted to leave.
Within a few seconds, another woman entered the room and one of them pulled down his trousers and took his wallet. He had €355 following his visit to the casino and the woman in red took €330 leaving him with only €25. She threw the wallet on the floor.
He picked up the wallet and the woman in red passed on some money to the other woman. He demanded his money back and a man walked into the room carrying a knife.
Mr Mercieca explained that he remained calm, pulled his trousers up and left as he did not want the situation to escalate.
"I felt betrayed and kind of helpless," he said.
He filed a police report saying it was important for him to file a report because of insurance, adding that when he travelled he always bought an insurance cover due to the fact that he had a disability and that made him an "easy target".
Some time later, the police called him to the station because they had a woman in custody and wanted him to see whether she was one of the two who took his money.
Although the woman at the station was not one of the two, Mr Mercieca said he recognised the man accompanying the woman as the one who held the knife. He clarified that that man did not try to stab him but held the knife and asked him to leave. He was 100 per cent sure Mr Debono was that man.
Mr Debono was remanded in custody after the court was informed that the police were still investigating the case.
Police Inspectors Daniel Zammit, Keith Arnaud and Anna Marie Micallef prosecuted.
Lawyers Michael Sciriha, Ian Farrugia and Franco Galea were defence counsel.
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13 Comments
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Denis Catania
Jul 30th 2008, 21:46
@Stephan Camilleri: Well fine you can take them to your town. we don't want them in Gzira and never did. they been there long enough. If they want to watch them, let them take them to Floriana, than the police don't have to go far to watch them. Since they will be by Police headquarters.
Legalize them, I agree, but again we had this problem for a long time in Gzira, Zone it somewhere else.
Stephan Camilleri
Jul 30th 2008, 15:57
Wiping away the blue girls from Gizra won't help much. Its called by name a trade, and is the oldest of all trades. Remove them from Gizra and they will reroute themselves somewhere else, where the police can`t keep an eye on them. Legalize the trade and the government could start taxing and claim VAT from these rats, and the police will have enough funds to patrol the area.
Denis Catania
Jul 30th 2008, 15:48
@Franco Farrugia: these hookers and pimps, can be smart at times. They don't usually bother their regulars.
P Debono
Jul 30th 2008, 14:16
As Denis Catania rightly said, whenever I mention the fact that I am from Gzira the first remark that I generally receive is regarding the prostitutes, as if I live in some kind of Cantonese ghetto! It's strange that Testaferrata Street isn't even in Gzira, but Msida, but that's for another day.
The incompetence of the local council and the authorities' negligence have gone on for far too long now. While huge monstrosities are being authorised for building in Gzira, the basic necessities of the population, such as public safety, are constantly being overlooked.
Tony Cachia Castelletti
Jul 30th 2008, 08:52
Franco Farrugia might like to move into this area with his family and see how he likes it then.
This area (part of Ta' Xbiex, part of Gzira & part of Msida) is a disaster area, nobody, male female grown up of child is safe, there has been robberies, attempted rapes, asults and many other crimes comitted in this area.
It is about time that the Police provide the residents of this area with protection. Police foot patrol is of the utmost importance and should start right away before someone gets killed.
R. Gatt
Jul 29th 2008, 19:26
ROFLMAO!
Alexander Grima just said it all in 4 words and a lol....lol
J Micallef
Jul 29th 2008, 14:43
"Mr Mercieca explained that he remained calm, pulled his trousers up and left as he did not want the situation to escalate"
Well, at least he was allowed to pull his trousers up...he can thank all the little stars for that.
Chris Borg
Jul 29th 2008, 13:23
The previous couple of posts seem to overlook the basic fact that, in this situation, Mr Mercieca appears to have been an innocent victim of armed robbery.
Denis Catania
Jul 29th 2008, 13:08
Those prostitutes should not be there, I'm not an angel myself, but if the police is going to look the other way.Then legalize it, and put it in a special zone. Me being from Gzira. The first thing my Maltese friends mention, when they here I'm from Gzira is the prostitutes. Two detectives posing as tourists for two weeks can wipe them out. What are we waiting for. Police Commish John Rizzo please clean Gzira up. I know this has been going on before you were born, but please John Rizzo clean it up.
Alexander Grima
Jul 29th 2008, 12:10
Curiosity kills the cat! lol
Victor Vella
Jul 28th 2008, 22:25
I have never been robbed by a prostitute simply becasue I never gone near one.I am not saying I am a saint but look whoever looks for trouble finds it, we just thank god that the area will hopefully sieze to exist in the coming years, meanwhile I think that hourly police patrols of the area to stop loitering will clean the place of the vermin and with that I mean the prostitutes, pimps and the punthers.
Franco Farrugia
Jul 28th 2008, 20:39
Oh, for goodness' sake,let's stop pontificating and groaning at everything that we see in the press, and make out that 'our sons' and the male population is not at fault, in this matter.
I have often passed through those streets and have rarely been harrassed. The few times this happened, I said, no thank you, and that was the end of that!
Marvic Vella
Jul 28th 2008, 16:53
It's high time the authorities made a clean sweep once and for all of these criminals who are the plague of the whole Gzira area. The illegal brothels and the harassing that goes on in the streets has to stop! My sons tell me how they are pestered by the 'girls' whenever they walk through certain streets at night.
Local council, police and government please wake up!