Former police commissioner Peter Paul Zammit had dropped disciplinary action against two CID inspectors, who were blamed by an internal inquiry for a blunder that led to the imprisonment on an innocent man, Times of Malta has learnt.
However, the police chief kept insisting on the dismissal of district inspector Elton Taliana from the police force even though he had solved the theft case and arraigned the right person. To date, disciplinary procedures against Mr Taliana are still ongoing.
The controversial blunder took place in August 2013 when Darryl Luke Borg, 27, from Birkirkara, was accused of theft and sent to prison. He was released two days later after it emerged he had been wrongly accused.
The Sunday Times of Malta revealed that an internal inquiry, published by the government only last week after 18 months from completion, reached a markedly different conclusion to a report drawn up by the Police Board. This had been published immediately and blamed the error on Mr Taliana.
Mr Taliana was obliged to inform us about the arraignment. Instead, he made a big show in the press
Instead, the inquiry shifted the onus on CID Inspectors Joseph Mercieca and Carlos Cordina for arraigning Mr Borg without enough evidence.
Citing the Police Act, the inquiry recommended disciplinary measures against the two CID inspectors, but said their good police record should be taken into consideration.
With the two probes concluded, the former police commissioner at first decided to start disciplinary actions against the two CID inspectors and Mr Taliana. However, he later dropped the case against the CID inspectors and proceeded with the one against Mr Taliana.
Contacted yesterday to explain his decision, Mr Zammit defended his actions. “As a referee I thought that in the two cases – both the CID and Inspector Taliana – erred,” Mr Zammit said.
“However, since the inquiry had left it up to me to decide, I felt that the CID inspectors had made an administrative mistake and considering their past record I felt the disciplinary measures should be dropped.”
Asked to explain why, with the same logic, he had not dropped the charges against Mr Taliana, Mr Zammit insisted this case was different.
“Mr Taliana was obliged to inform us about the arraignment of another person and he did not. Instead, he made a big show in the press,” Mr Zammit claimed.
Asked whether Mr Taliana’s past – he was a former security officer with Nationalist minister Tonio Borg – played a role in his decision, Mr Zammit vehemently denied this and said he always took decisions objectively.
The August 2013 police blunder had led to a political backlash. PN shadow minister Jason Azzopardi had accused the government of using the Police Board to mount a frame-up against Mr Taliana for partisan reasons. He had also accused Mr Zammit of being a Labour Party stooge.
On their part, former home affairs minister Manual Mallia and Mr Zammit had denied any political motives behind the case.
Inspector Taliana had started legal procedures in court against the Prime Minister and the Police Board. These procedures are still ongoing in front of Judge Joseph Micallef.
Darryl Luke Borg
The man wrongly accused of carrying out a hold-up has filed an application requesting the Constitutional Court to take into consideration an internal report on the gaffe.
Darryl Luke Borg, of Birkirkara, filed the application after The Sunday Times of Malta reported that an internal inquiry placed the blame on two CID inspectors who arrested him and charged him over something he had not done.
Mr Borg had been arraigned and charged with a hold-up at a convenience store in Birkirkara on August 7, 2013 but it turned out that he was mistakenly arrested. Another person had been arraigned in connection with the hold-up by another police inspector, Elton Taliana, and admitted to the charges brought against him.
The Constitutional Court is currently considering an application filed by Mr Borg claiming breach of human rights and a request for compensation. A decision is expected to be handed down on March 27.
Lawyers David Camilleri and Joseph Gatt signed the application on behalf of Mr Borg.