Former Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said will face perjury charges at the Gozo Courts next Tuesday, afternoon, The Times has learnt.
The charge sheet was filed at the Gozo court registry and the case has been assigned to Magistrate Edwina Grima.
Dr Said resigned his post on Thursday after a court of appeal earlier that day ordered the police to take criminal action against him for alleged perjury.
The case revolves around his testimony before the civil courts in Gozo last year in the case of Anthony Xuereb and Helen Milligan who are battling over the custody of their child, now three years old.
Dr Said, who was Ms Milligan’s lawyer before taking up his post as Parliamentary Secretary, was summoned to testify about court proceedings that had led to his former client being awarded temporary custody in 2007.
On the basis of that testimony, Mr Xuereb alleged that Dr Said lied under oath.
The claim was dismissed by the police and the Attorney General and then even by a Magistrates’ court, which ruled that, even though Dr Said had made a mistake in his testimony, he had not committed perjury.
However, a court of appeal, presided over by Judge Michael Mallia, overturned that judgment, ruling Dr Said’s error did in fact constitute prima facie evidence of possible perjury. He ordered criminal proceedings be instituted against him for a court to decide the matter.
Mr Xuereb argues that Dr Said erroneously testified that a court had decided to return the child to the mother after it had heard all parties in the case in an evening sitting.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, Dr Said admitted to the mistake but insisted he had had no intention of lying about facts which could easily have been verified.
On the basis of Judge Mallia’s ruling, the police went on to file the charges before the Gozo courts.
Dr Said will be charged with perjury, specifically article 106 of the Criminal Code which deals with the crime committed by people who “give false evidence in civil matters”.
If convicted, he will be liable to imprisonment for a term of between seven months and two years but, since he could be treated as a first-time offender, he could be placed under probation, conditionally discharged or even given a suspended sentence.
Magistrate Grima is the only magistrate who presides over sittings in Gozo who was not involved in any way with the case.
The other two magistrates – Paul Coppini and Anthony Ellul – were both involved. The former was the magistrate before whom Dr Said presented an application and who decreed that temporary custody of the child would be given to Ms Milligan.
Magistrate Ellul presided over, and ruled against, a challenge filed by Mr Xuereb’s lawyers to try to get the court to order the police to take criminal action against Dr Said. Mr Xuereb appealed Magistrate Ellul’s ruling which led to Mr Justice Mallia ordering the police to prosecute.
In comments to The Times a day after the ruling, Mr Xuereb’s lawyer, Roberto Montalto, said his client’s decision was not a personal vendetta against Dr Said but simply a necessary step in his battle to gain custody of his only child.