Saturday, 11th October 2008 - 18:10CET
Neighbour gets unexpected view
A 43-year-old man was today charged with defilement after his 16-year-old neighbour, who lives across the street, reported to the police that she could see him naked from her house.
The man pleaded not guilty to charges of defilement, offending public morals and causing his neighbour to fear that violence would be used against her in Pembroke over the past weeks.
The prosecution informed Magistrate Edwina Grima that although the charges looked serious, this was a case where the man exposed his naked body in his own home from where his neighbour could see him. There was never any physical contact between the two, the inspector said.
The man’s lawyer added that his client was not contesting that he was naked at home but was contesting the intention.
After hearing submissions the magistrate granted the man bail on condition that he does not approach his Pembroke home and does not speak to the girl or her family. He will be residing at another residence.
He was bound to abide by the bail conditions against a €500 deposit and a personal guarantee of €10,000. The man’s name is not being published to protect the identity of the neighbour.
Nigerian accused of importing cocaine
A 34-year-old Nigerian man was charged with importing cocaine into Malta after the drugs were allegedly found in his stomach when he arrived from Valencia, Spain on Thursday afternoon.
Victor Odaro Izevbigie pleaded not guilty to conspiring to deal in the drug and its possession in circumstances denoting it was not for his personal use.
Following his arraignment this afternoon he was remanded in police custody.
Chilean man accused of defrauding hotel
A 31-year-old Chilean man has been charged with defrauding the hotel where he was staying when he allegedly paid his bill with an over-drawn credit card.
Alberto Ibattetxe Ossandon pleaded not guilty to defrauding the Golden Tulip Vivaldi Hotel and other entities on and before yesterday.
He was granted bail against a personal guarantee of €5,000.
Three men, aged between 17 and 46, were this afternoon charged with threatening and assaulting policemen who intervened to break up a fight between them and another group.
Manuel Schembri, 46, Reuben Schembri, 25, and a 17-year-old pleaded not guilty slightly injuring Kevin Gatt and Darren Galea when a fight broke out and threatening and assaulting a police sergeant and four constables who intervened to calm down the situation at about 5.15 a.m. this morning.
They were also charged with slightly injuring two of the police officers, damaging their uniforms and disobeying police.
Magistrate Edwina Grima heard how the incident took place when the three men were drunk and got into a fight with Mr Gatt and Mr Galea. When police intervened, the latter left quietly but the accused remained aggressive and injured police as they tried to get to Mr Gatt and Mr Galea. The accused were granted bail against a personal guarantee of €5,000 each.
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Comments
I can only agree to the points you clarified, but only if this was in fact what happened. As I stated, from the vague report, it is not clear if it was only a case of "exposure", accidental or otherwise, or worse, a corrupting of a minor by indecent and lewd acts, by means of exposure and public exhibition. This case however highlights the possibility of one being prosecuted, for example, for taking a shower with the window open, bathing topless in one's own garden or pool etc. There is a huge difference between such and lewd acts and I hope the police take this into consideration, not in this case, but in general. We have already had a case where a woman was found guilty of indecent exposure on a secluded beach and only because she was maltese! We never hear of tourists being prosecuted for such "crimes". Had this woman been caught having sex on a public beach, there would have been good grounds for prosecution, but for bearing her breasts? In 2007, when was the case....
your comment could not be better.
The law does not distinguish whether it is a woman or man who expose themselves in public. If a woman aged 18 and over exposes her body to a minor she can be arraigned in court just the same as a male. As for harassment....that is a long shot which has no legal basis, as the police act on a complaint, they verify the facts and act accordingly. Harassment would be obvious when the same person is arrested for similar incidents when there is no evidence at all. In this case the Court has to see the facts, credibility of the witness and circusmtances surrounding the nakedess.
bolloX
I repeat, we do not know the whole story, but if it is only what has been reported today, I think the accused has good grounds for suing the police and the state for harassment. Again, I am not one to judge on what may have happened prior to this incident, but if being nude in one's private residence is against the law, the state will have to build a pretty big jail!
I suspect that there is more than meets the eye in this case, otherwise it will be one hell of a case to prosecute before the magistrates!