Alfred Grech, a 60-year-old lawyer resident in Kercem, has been fined €3,000 for using his mobile phone to send vulgar messages to newspaper editor Julia Farrugia. He was, however, cleared of sexually harassing her since the police issued charges under the wrong law.

Dr Grech sent two sexually explicit messages to Mrs Farrugia.

He was charged with sexual harassment under the Equality of Men and Women Act, which deals with harassment in the context of the workplace. This was not the case in this particular case and police should have charged Dr Grech with harassment under the Criminal Code.

The court heard that Dr Grech did not put his name or Mrs Farrugia in the first SMS. Mrs Farrugia did not recognise the number and replied by asking who the sender was, and he replied with a vulgar word.

She asked the Police Commissioner to investigate and Dr Grech was traced and interrogated by Commissioner Rizzo. 

Dr Grech admitted sending the messages but said they were intended for someone else.

He said he had once met Mrs Farrugia during a court case and she had given him her number so he had it saved in his phone. When he sent the message he mistakenly selected her number instead of that of another woman. He apologised to Mrs Farrugia.

The court asked how, if that was the case, he had sent the second message. Dr Grech said that was a moment of madness and he did not intend to insult Mrs Farrugia.

The magistrate ruled there was no doubt that the accused intentionally used his phone to send the indecent messages to Mrs Farrugia. However, the court had no choice but to clear him of the charge.

The court noted that the accused was a lawyer who should set an example on how to respect the law.

The magistrate fined Dr Grech €3,000 and refered the case to the Commission for the Administration of Justice. The court also bound Dr Grech not to approach Mrs Farrugia for two years against a fine of €500.