I read Kevin Dingli’s account of his late father’s version of the case ‘The Police vs Christine Adams’ (The Sunday Times of Malta, September 14) and, while appreciating his humorous treatment of the subject, I have to correct the wrong impression that this was some big courtroom comedy.

The district magistrate for Sliema and St Julian’s in 1964 was Magistrate Joseph Debono. However, as the arraignment of Adams took place while he was out on his annual vacation leave, the case was initially heard before Magistrate Joseph Soler.

As a law student doing courtroom practice, I happened to be in the hall where the case was being heard and on that occasion, legal procurator Benedict Dingli, who was Adams’s defence counsel, asked the court to exhibit the ‘two-piece’ costume in question and – very tongue-in-cheek – even suggested that his client should wear the bathing suit for the presiding magistrate to determine whether it was an indecent costume or not.

This latter suggestion produced a giggle round the courtroom but Magistrate Soler, while admitting the exhibit in evidence, declined the suggestion made by Dingli.

The case was adjourned for further evidence and submissions and, in the meantime, the district magistrate, Joseph Debono, returned from his vacation leave and the case resumed before him. He heard final submissions and adjourned the case for judgment.

As the case had far more serious general implications, Magistrate Debono had to take into account a number of factors, namely Malta’s long-standing traditions when it came to beachwear, the Church’s position on the matter as well as the implications the judgment would have on Malta’s then fledging tourism industry.

The timing and motivation of the acquittal were a far cry from what Dingli seems to want to convey in his letter and certainly the judgment was not the result of the “scrupulous” magistrate being so embarrassed by his father’s suggestion that he quickly disposed of the case. In fact, the suggestion was made before Magistrate Soler and the case was decided many weeks later by Magistrate Debono, who delivered an elaborate and lengthy judgment leading to Adams’s acquittal.

The police had duly filed a note of appeal but when the records of the case were sent to the Attorney General’s Office, Crown Counsel, Victor Borg Costanzi had decided that there were no grounds for appeal by the prosecution and the matter rested there.

Proceedings in this case were conducted with far more decorum than Dingli’s letter seems to imply.