A 47-year-old man and his son have been acquitted of defrauding a Żebbuġ petrol station and robbing it of diesel by using fake banknotes after it was not proven that the pair knew that the money was forged.

The case dates to June 30, 2005, when Joseph Mary Cardona and his 27-year-old son Christian (then 16) were charged with forging money bills, receiving and handling forged banknotes, defrauding the petrol station of Lm25 (€58.23), robbing it of fuel and handling stolen goods.

Prosecuting officer Maria Stella Attard told the court that the police had received a report filed by the directors of Falcon Limited, which owns the petrol station, stating that they had come across false banknotes deposited into the fuel dispenser.

The directors also showed the police CCTV footage capturing the transaction, which led to the identification of Mr Cardona and his son.

The two were arrested and the elder Mr Cardona was found with Lm10 and Lm5 notes in his trousers pocket but they did not turn out to be fake. His Siġġiewi residence was also searched and no forged bills were found.

In a statement taken at the police station, the accused did not deny having money which he used to pay for diesel. He also said that he had done so on various dates, including on June 30, adding that he had stopped by the petrol station with his son.

The accused also testified that he often stopped by that petrol station to refill his van with fuel. He worked as a butcher and the money he had on his person on the day came from the day's sales.

He gave the money to his son, who inserted the bills into the fuel dispenser. Lm15 was used to refill the van with diesel while Lm10 was used to extract petrol into a jerrycan which would then be used to power his farm's generator. He denied knowing that the money was fake.

Mr Cardona also said that he was prepared to repay the amount. Company director Joe Falzon refused, saying that his company had suffered serious consequences.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera noted that the alleged footage was never exhibited in court.

The court ruled that it was not enough to prove that the money was false but the prosecution also had to be prove that the accused were cognisant of the fact that they were handling forged banknotes.

The witnesses summoned by the prosecution failed to testify to seeing the accused with the false bills in hand, with the knowledge that they were forged. Their possession of the fake bills was not even proven because the footage had not been exhibited, the court noted.

Mr Cardona and his son were, therefore, acquitted of all charges brought against them.