The Police Commissioner, Peter Paul Zammit, was yesterday fined a total of €600 by a magistrate after the police failed to turn up in two criminal libel cases.

At the beginning of proceedings, Magistrate Francesco Depasquale noted the absence of the Police Inspector Sarah Magri, prosecuting, and of another police officer who would assist the prosecution by calling the parties into the hall.

The libel case was initiated by the former Malta Enterprise chairman, Lawrence Zammit, against Josef Caruana as editor of L-Orizzont and against Aleander Balzan, the editor of the newspaper’s online version inewsmalta.com

The cases are over reports linking him to a company being investigated in Italy for money laundering.

At one point, Inspector Magri walked into the court room and told the magistrate that the sitting was supposed to be held at 11am but the magistrate corrected her and said it was in fact set for 10.30am.

Later on, after the proceedings in other cases had got under way, the inspector apologised to the magistrate, noting the fine was not directed at her but at her superiors.

Magistrate Depasquale said he had made repeated requests to the police for an officer to be stationed in his court room during sittings but so far his requests had fallen on deaf ears.

He fined the Police Commissioner for contempt of court over the absence of the two officers that morning.

The magistrate ordered that Minister for Home Affairs Manuel Mallia, chairman of the Law Courts Reform Commission Giovanni Bonello and Parliamentary Secretary for Justice Owen Bonnici be appraised of the situation.