A lap dancer found scantily dressed in a Paceville club was acquitted of running a brothel, offending public morals and being indecently dressed.

The Appeals Court ruled it had not been proven that she committed immoral acts.

A previous court had ruled that Sabrina Bonnett, 36, did not commit any immoral acts when she was found scantily dressed in the dressing room of a gentleman’s club in November 2006.

The Attorney General appealed but Mr Justice Michael Mallia, presiding over the Court of Appeal, yesterday ruled that being a pole or lap dancer did not constitute an immoral act. Neither was the fact that she was caught wearing a bikini top and panties.

He said he agreed with the first court that there was no evidence to prove the club had been used as a brothel or for immoral reasons.

Lawyers Veronique Dalli and Dean Hili appeared for the accused.

In a separate case, two men who managed AO Platinum club, Duncan Fenech and Daniel Schembri, had their acquittal of running a brothel confirmed on appeal.

The court also revoked a €5,000 fine for employing people without a permit, saying this had not been proven.

Lawyers Joe Giglio and Edward Gatt appeared for the men.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.