Labour deputy leader Toni Abela was yesterday fined €100 for contempt of court after he failed to appear in court to defend his client in drug-related charges.

When the woman’s case was called, she told Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras that her lawyer could not attend as he was abroad.

The matter annoyed the magistrate, who found him guilty of contempt of court and also warned, in her decree, that the fine will not be revoked. She said the lawyer not only failed to appear in court but “did not bother to inform the court of his absence through an application”.

Police Superintendent Dennis Theuma said the prosecution had rested its case in 2013 and the case was still pending evidence produced by the defence.

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