Woman gets three weeks jail for not appearing in court

An illegal immigrant was jailed for three weeks after failing to appear in court a number of times.

Mona Ibrahim, 24, was charged with breaching her bail conditions on March 20 after she failed to attend a court sitting.

She was granted bail after she pleaded not guilty to filing a false police report by accusing another immigrant of having raped her three months ago.

The court heard she had been notified to attend the sitting but she claimed she had failed to attend by mistake as she thought she had to go to court on a different date. She even brought her interpreter and lawyer to testify that she was in court on the wrong day.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera noted that Ms Ibrahim understood the interpreter who told her to go to court on the correct date but she still failed to turn up. This was carelessness on her part and Ms Ibrahim had actually not yet turned up for any sittings so far and so the court felt that a prison term was necessary.

Police Inspector Graziella Muscat prosecuted.

Lawyer Mark Busuttil appeared for Ms Ibrahim.