Two Sliema councillors were this morning cleared of misappropriating and damaging council laptops after a court found that the prosecution had failed to prove its case or that the removal of their hard drives had led to their impairment.

Former Nationalist councillor Yves Bobby Cali, 67, and former Labour councillor Martin Debono, 55, were cleared of the charges brought against them which included using council funds to buy two top-of-the-range Apple laptop computers for their private use on and before September 30, 2010. 

However, the court heard how the laptops had been purchased to be used by councillors for their work in connection with council projects.

Police Inspector Angelo Gafà told Magistrate Audrey Demicoli that he had received two anonymous letters in which a number of allegations were made about Sliema councillors, including the accused, the former mayor Nikki Dimech and councillor Patrick Pace.

The second letter contained allegations that Mr Calì and Mr Debono had bought laptops costing some €2,000 with council funds only for the computers to be kept at their respective homes.

The issue, which centres on two Apple Mac Book Pros, was raised during a council meeting on September 29, 2010, when an invoice for the laptops, which made no mention of laptops but instead of computer hardware and software, was queried following an audit report.

The court ruled that the prosecution had not proven that the councillors misappropriated the laptops and neither that they stood to gain, financially, from their use. The council had approved their purchase. Being laptops, it was "natural" that they would be taken outside the council premises.

The magistrate said it had been proven that the laptops remained listed as council assets so they could never be found guilty of misappropriation of these laptops.

On the last charge - that of damaging the laptops when they removed the hard drives - the court said the law did not provide for such an event.

Therefore, while clearing the former councillors of all the charges brought against them, Magistrate Demicoli suggested a amendment to the law to include a restrictive definition of damage to a computer by making them unusable.

Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Joe Giglio appeared for the accused.

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