Man jailed six years acquitted on appeal

A man jailed six years and fined for conspiring to deal in cannabis in 2008 was this morning acquitted as the jurors had based their guilty verdict on a suspicion which did not prove his guilt.

27-year-old Clayton Galea of Ħamrun had also been fined €15,000. Although he had been found guilty of possession, a jury had acquitted him of being in possession of the drug. According to defence lawyer Emmanuel Mallia, the juror’s verdict had not made sense.

In their judgement, Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano, Mr Justice David Scicluna and Mr Justice Joseph Micallef said that the jurors verdict was based on a suspicion, probably a strong suspicion, but not enough to find guilt by law.

They said that after examining all the proceedings closely, they were of the opinion that Mr Galea had been found guilty on incorrect facts and acquitted him.