Filipino woman accused of bigamy

A Filipino woman married to a Maltese man is facing bigamy charges after the police in Manila said they had no record of her first husband’s death.

The woman, Evangeline Cauchi, 57, of St Pauls Bay, denied the charge of marrying Ronald Cauchi in 2003 when she was still married to Francisco Hernandez.

Police Inspector Graziella Muscat testified that she had received a report from the Marriage Registry in 2007, that Ms Cauchi could have committed bigamy when she married in Malta. She phoned the police in Manila and asked for information about the death of Mr Hernandez but they informed her that they had none.

The inspector called Ms Cauchi in for questioning and she explained that she had been separated (divorce is not available in the Philippines) from Mr Hernandez since 1994 and had come to Malta in 2000 when she met her present husband. She added that, in 2002, she had been informed by her daughter that Mr Hernandez had died and Ms Cauchi asked for a copy of the death certificate to submit it to the authorities in Malta and, in fact, received the certificate and submitted it before marrying.

Under cross-examination, Ms Muscat told defence lawyer Joe Giglio she had no evidence of the phone call between the accused and her daughter. When asked if she had any information on whether Ms Cauchi had, in fact, contacted her husband between 1994 and the time of his death, the officer said she had none.

At the end of the short sitting, Magistrate Audrey Demicoli asked the prosecution whether there were any more witnesses and the prosecuting officer said there were none. At that point Dr Giglio jokingly quipped that he was expecting the deceased husband to testify.

The case continues.