A young mother was charged with making a false declaration when she used a friend’s baby for DNA testing in a paternity case.

Police Inspector Kylie Borg testified that the case first came to light when a man asked the Family Court to order his former partner to test their baby’s DNA after she registered it as having an unknown father.

The mother, however, sent a friend’s child to be tested and it evidently resulted that the child was not his, the officer said. However, the man did not give up and asked that the mother too should take a DNA test.

The mother asked a friend to take the test but her plan failed when court-appointed expert Marisa Cassar noticed that the signature of the woman who had submitted the child for DNA testing and that of the woman who did the test herself did not match, the witness said.

Dr Cassar informed the authorities about the matter and the police investigated.

Mr Borg said that the woman confessed to everything adding that she had done so because she did not want her child’s father’s family to be involved in her life after witnessing violence at their home.

She also claimed she had been harassed by a member of his family when she was pregnant.

The witness said that the woman did not file any police reports about the serious allegations she made and, after speaking to the baby’s father and his mother, there was nothing to suggest that her allegations were founded.

The case continues in July.

Lawyers Michael and Rebekah Tanti Dougall are defence counsel.

Lawyers Ludvig Caruana and Annalisa Debono are representing the father.

The court has banned publication of the names to protect the child.