An elderly couple have been cleared of harassing their relatives who live in an underlying apartment after being accused of waking them up in the early hours of the morning with loud footsteps.
The magistrate expressed surprise at how septuagenarian siblings ended up in court over such “puerile and ridiculous” issues and said they were putting a strain on each others’ health.
Guiseppa and Raymond Bonello live in an apartment in Sta Venera, while Ms Bonello’s sister and her husband, Emanuela and Edwin Zarb, reside in the apartment below.
Trouble between the siblings and their respective husbands erupted five years ago when the Zarbs objected to the Bonellos’ decision to add another two floors to their block.
The Zarbs launched civil proceedings in court in an attempt to stop the project. Although the issue was resolved, bad blood between the two families remained.
The Zarbs filed several police reports accusing their relatives of harassment and of being noisy.
The Bonellos, aged 76 and 77, ended up in court charged with disturbing the peace in the early hours of the morning.
Ms Bonello was further accused of breaching a November 2009 court judgment when she had been fined €50 for similar charges and a €240 obligation not to harass the Zarbs for a year. In December 2011, the Bonellos were found guilty of fined €290 each.
On appeal, they said they were elderly people who needed to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. However, they insisted they did not wear heavy soled shoes which made a noise.
Mr Justice Michael Mallia referred to the couples’ testimonies in court which, he said, were so credible that the court found it difficult to establish who to believe.
“This court cannot understand how relatives who are mature and of a certain age get into these piques and end up in court over such puerile and ridiculous issues which have an effect on their health,” Mr Justice Mallia remarked as he acquitted the Bonellos of all charges, saying the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.