The star witness in the case against former police inspector David Gatt did not spend time at a psychiatric hospital as had been implied, a court heard yesterday.

In a previous sitting, lawyer Joe Giglio appearing for Dr Gatt asked Police Constable Mario Portelli, known by his service number, PC 99, whether he had spent time at Mount Carmel Hospital.

PC Portelli insisted he had not and Oswald Balzan, from the hospital, said yesterday that there were two former patients by the name of Mario Portelli but they had different identification card numbers.

PC Portelli had previously testified that Dr Gatt had masterminded a string of high profile hold-ups, over which he is facing charges, including the failed heist on the HSBC headquarters in June 2010 and another unsuccessful robbery on an Attard jeweller in November that year.

PC Portelli also confirmed in court that he had been arrested and investigated during the case, saying Dr Gatt had told the police he (the witness) had sex with a prostitute while on duty.

The case continues.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.