A jury decided today that a man accused of defrauding a Briton of his life savings was mentally fit during the execution of the crime.

Jonathan Baldacchino, 29, is accused of  having defrauded Briton Paul Nice of some €54,000 by pretending that his father was a financial adviser who offered attractive returns on financial investments.

Following a request by defence counsel Jason Azzopardi, Kris Busietta and Adrian Camilleri, jurors had been asked to decide whether the accused was mentally fit to stand trial.

Psychiatrists gave their testimony two days ago.

The jurors this morning decided 7-2 that Mr Baldacchino is fit to stand trial.

The prosecution is claiming that Mr Baldacchino met pensioner Paul Nice in a bar in Sliema four years ago. The accused presented himself as the owner of a computer company. He said that his father was a financial consultant and could give him a good return on investments. This went on for two years and eventually Mr Nice handed over €54,000.

The accused presented investment certificates to the victim. They pertained to a certain Andrew Debono from Global Capital Investments.

It resulted to the police that the accused worked in a kebab shop and his employer rented an apartment from Global Capital.

Andrew Debono, on behalf of Global Capital, would collect the rent from the kebab shop.  In return, Mr Debono used to hand over receipts which the accused used to create the investment certificates, using Mr Debono’s name.

When the victim, Mr Nice, demanded payment of the returns, the accused stopped all contact. Mr Nice eventually tracked down his parents, who told him that their son had a split personality and other mental health issues.