Jail for man who cheated dying aunt
'Rita Borg was coherent in her testimony'
A man who took advantage of his wife's dying elderly aunt to defraud her of over €22,000 was yesterday jailed for 16 months.
Magistrate Doreen Clarke said it was unacceptable that 58-year-old Edgar Bonnici exploited the late Rita Borg, then aged 75, at a time when she was most vulnerable because she was diagnosed with cancer.
Mr Bonnici would help Ms Borg with paying her bills. She trusted him to handle cheques to make payments on her behalf. When she was admitted to hospital, however, she was alerted by a friend that she was being cheated.
Before going to hospital for treatment, she had granted a power of attorney to another man, John Pullicino, to handle her finances. Mr Pullicino noted discrepancies in her accounts and eventually uncovered 30 cheques, amounting to €22,907, which were fraudulently cashed and the money pocketed by Mr Bonnici.
Mr Bonnici forged the woman's signature on 13 of the cheques and made the rest out to himself withdrawing an amount far larger than the bill that had to be paid.
The court said that Mr Bonnici had produced witnesses who were meant to paint him in a good light and raise questions about the mental stability of Ms Borg. However, when Ms Borg testified in the case before she died, she appeared to be a "reserved, tranquil and serene woman" despite the terrible illness she was suffering from.
The magistrate said Ms Borg was coherent in what she said despite giving her version of the facts on several occasions.
Magistrate Clarke said: "Unfortunately, Rita Borg died during the proceedings and, so, any other provision the court could take as an alternative to a jail term, to ensure Mr Bonnici pays what is owed to her, will not have the effect normally desired and will not serve its aim".
Before jailing Mr Bonnici, the court noted this was a serious crime and that Mr Bonnici had taken advantage of the elderly woman's trust in him at a time when she was most vulnerable.