Man claims unfair hearing at Equality Commission

A man who the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality ruled had racially discriminated against a tenant is claiming he was not given the opportunity to defend himself against a "false claim".

Joseph Farrugia from Sliema told The Sunday Times he was not even told what he was being accused of by the NCPE, which cited 'data protection' laws when he made a request for information.

The 67-year-old said he was not even allowed to defend himself. Instead, a year after receiving a phone call from the NCPE informing him about the proceedings, he received a ruling against him.

To compound matters, Mr Farrugia said he was not even entitled to appeal against the ruling.

Mr Farrugia rented his apartment in St Julian's to a Chinese man in October 2007. Just two weeks later, he went to the apartment to speak to the man but instead found an Arab man living there with friends.

According to the contract signed by the Chinese man, the flat could not be sub-let to third parties.

Mr Farrugia told the Arab man he was an illegal squatter on his property and ordered him to vacate the premises.

The Arab man objected, claiming Mr Farrugia disliked Arabs and that was why he was evicting them.

Eight months later, in June 2008, he received a call from the NCPE informing him about the claim against him and he was asked for his reaction. In the meantime, the Arabs had vacated his apartment.

"I was refused a copy of the report on the pretext that this would be a breach of the Data Protection Act. Nor was I or my legal representative given any chance to question the accuser, defend myself or produce any witnesses, as happens in a court of law.

"The reply I got from the NCPE was that the commission was not a court and therefore was not obliged to follow basic principles of fair play and the right to defend yourself from claims being made about you.

"The commission dismissed my argument that the Arab was an illegal squatter in my property and therefore had every reason to distort the words I used. At no time did I use words which, as the commission unilaterally concluded, created a hostile and intimidating environment," Mr Farrugia said.

The commission concluded that Mr Farrugia had created "an intimidating, hostile and offensive environment by referring to one's ethnicity and this amounts to discrimination and clear xenophobia".

The ruling, signed by NCPE commissioner Janet Mifsud, which Mr Farrugia received last June, found him guilty of racial discrimination.

Mr Farrugia said the fact that the Arab man was illegally occupying his premises was not an issue for the NCPE, which decided to rely solely on the version given by the Arab man.

"The way the decision was taken shows complete lack of any legal background and disrespect for the principles of natural justice. It also shows the danger of not having people on the commission with a legal background. I think the whole procedure and treatment of the case, apart from being arrogant, was unfair, incorrect and went against the principles of our Constitution and was also in breach of my fundamental human right to a fair hearing," he said.

When contacted, the NCPE refused to comment on the case or react to Mr Farrugia's claims.

"The NCPE is precluded by law from divulging information relating to any investigation," it said.

mxuereb@timesofmalta.com