A 19-year-old woman decided there and then to marry a Tunisian man for Lm1000 (€2,300) so that he could get Maltese citizenship and she could settle her debts, a court heard.

The case happened in January 2003.

The woman was in a car showroom talking to a friend when a Tunisian man came in and asked if anybody wanted to marry his brother, who wanted Maltese citizenship.

The woman agreed because she had just lost her job and needed to pay the debt on a car she had just bought.

The woman first saw her 'husband' when they filed their document for marriage banns. The second time was for their marriage.

The man immediately paid her the promised money and they never lived together. The only time they met since then were to sign documents.

The woman acknowledged she had made a mistake and told the court that no one in her family, other than her mother, knew what had happened. She had no idea what had become of her 'husband', whom she had not seen for more than four years.

The court noted that no other evidence had been produce to corroborate or contradict the woman's version. However the court had no reason to doubt the woman. 

The court declared that the decision for marriage was vitiated. It was clear that the parties never had a real intention of forming a family and never intended to marry in the real sense of the word. They only viewed marriage as a means to solve their own problems.

The marriage was therefore annulled.

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