A man was cleared of supplying heroin that led a drug addict to overdose after the court ruled a blood sample taken from the victim while still unconscious was inadmissible as evidence.

Magistrate Marseann Farrugia ruled that the victim, Kristian Ellul, who was well known to the police in relation to drug use, was inconsistent in his evidence, so the case against Charlo Cutajar had not been proved beyond reasonable doubt.

Moreover, court experts said there was doubt on how Mr Ellul had overdosed.

He was found unconscious in Qaliet Street, Marsascala on October 3, 2002. When he was released from hospital, he identified Mr Cutajar as the supplier.

He claimed he had gone to Mr Cutajar’s house where the accused prepared the heroin, filled the syringes and injected him because he did not know how to do it himself. He said he began to feel dizzy and left Mr Cutajar’s flat and then lost consciousness.

When Mr Cutajar was arrested, he denied supplying the heroin, insisting he had not met Mr Ellul on the day in question. A police search at his house yielded a burnt spoon, which Mr Cutajar said he was keeping as a souvenir of his heroin abuse days.

The magistrate observed that the prosecution’s case rested entirely on the testimony given by Mr Ellul, who was no stranger to drug use and whose version contradicted his initial statement to the police.

Court expert Mario Scerri testified that Mr Ellul did not have fresh puncture marks on his arm, which contradicted Mr Ellul’s version that Mr Cutajar had injected the heroin.

Dr Scerri also said he had found opiates in Mr Ellul’s blood that could have come from any pills containing codeine. However, since the blood sample was taken while Mr Ellul was still unconscious, the court ruled that this was inadmissible as evidence. For these reasons, the court felt the charges had not been proved beyond reasonable doubt.