The managing director of a Qawra pub was granted bail after facing charges of having made fraudulent gains to the detriment of two retail outlets.
Donald Micallef, 35, from St Paul's Bay, had allegedly bought food and beverages for his pub from the retail stores which sold wines, beverages and other groceries totaling bills of some €6,500 and €1,600 respectively.
The prosecution explained in court how the police had received a complaint by the first creditor who alleged that Mr Micallef had paid €500 in cash and issued a cheque for the remaining balance. This cheque was not honoured when presented at a local bank.
Shortly after, the second creditor turned up at the Qawra police station with a similar report regarding the same customer. When making queries with the bank, the police were informed that the account under which the cheques had been issued had been closed. Moreover, Mr Micallef had not been the authorised signatory of the account.
The police obtained a warrant of arrest and approached Mr Micallef, confronting him with the allegations and asking him to hand over his cheque book.
Today in court, presided over by Magistrate Josette Demicoli, Mr Micallef refused the assistance of a legal aid lawyer, pointing out that his trusted counsel was attending to other duties in Gozo.
After hearing the charges being read out by the prosecution, the man pleaded not guilty and requested bail so as to be able to return to his business. "I need to earn money to be able to pay off my creditors," the man told the magistrate.
The court, noting the nature of the charges, the circumstances of the case and the fact that the accused could provide the necessary guarantees, granted the man release from custody against a personal guarantee of €7,000.
The court also ordered him to sign the bail book three times weekly and prohibited him from approaching any of the witnesses. It recommended he should entrust one of his employees to handle sales from either of his allegedly defrauded creditors if such purchases were strictly necessary.
The court, however, turned down a request by Mr Micallef for a ban on the publication of his identity. The man argued that he wished to avoid any negative repercussions upon his employees. However, the court denied this request following strong objection by the prosecution.
Inspector Maurice Curmi prosecuted.