Two ex-Sliema councillors whose controversial arrest and strip search caused furore in 2011 were yesterday cleared of misappropriating and damaging council computers.

Former Nationalist councillor Yves Bobby Calì, 67, and ex-Labour councillor Martin Debono, 55, were cleared of using council funds to buy two Apple laptops for their private use before September 30, 2010, misappropriating and damaging them.

The court ruled the prosecution failed to prove its case, including that removing the hard drives led to the laptops’ impairment.

Mr Debono and Mr Calì were arrested following a council meeting in January 2011, taken to police headquarters and kept for 24 hours in a cell, where they were questioned.

Mr Debono had claimed he was asked to strip naked in front of officers while Mr Calì had been allowed to keep his underwear on.

They were also accused of misusing council money to buy the laptops. However, the court heard that the computers were purchased to be used by councillors for their work in connection with council projects and had been approved by the council.

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

The second letter alleged 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 was raised during a council meeting on September 29, 2010, when an invoice making 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 managed to prove that the councillors had misappropriated the laptops and neither that they stood to gain from their use.

It was “natural” for laptops to be taken outside council premises and the magistrate said it had been proven that the laptops remained listed as council assets so they could have never been found guilty of misappropriation.

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

Magistrate Demicoli suggested amending the law to include a restrictive definition of damage to a computer by making it unusable.

Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Joe Giglio appeared for the accused, who had resigned when the charges were filed.