The Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday revoked a ruling whereby a man was fined €932 (Lm400) for trafficking in and possessing heroin and recommended to the President of Malta that the man should only serve one week in jail instead of the minimum of six months.

Marco Galea, 24, from Birkirkara was originally found guilty of trafficking in heroin and of being in possession of the drug and of cannabis resin on September, 18, 2007.

He was fined €932 (Lm400).

An appeal was filed by the Attorney General's Office on October, 3, 2007 asking the Court of Criminal Appeal to reform the sentence, noting that the minimum punishment prescribed by law for a person found guilty of drug trafficking is six months jail.

The court, presided over by Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano, took into consideration the fact that Mr Galea had completely reformed himself, made academic progress and had a stable job.

Describing the case as an exceptional one, the Chief Justice noted that the testimony give by Mr Galea's probation officer indicated that he resides at home with his family, which offer him an extremely strong support system. In addition, Mr Galea did not have a police record and has managed to stay away from drugs for a number of years.

The court added that, although its hands were tied in terms of punishment because Mr Galea was found guilty of the charges brought against him, it would be making a recommendation to the President of Malta in the sense that the court deems it fit for Mr Galea to serve only one week in prison and be given a conditional discharge for three years instead of serving six months in jail.

Lawyer Edward Gatt appeared for Mr Galea.