A man was yesterday cleared of sexually assaulting a female work colleague during a massage.

Owen Calleja was charged with the offence on February 19 of last year. Magistrate Joe Mifsud heard how the Mr Calleja and the woman, whose name cannot be published, had been working overtime in the office when the two had agreed to massage each other.

The woman alleged that she had massaged Calleja first, whilst kneeling on his back. When it was his turn, she said that Mr Calleja tried to take it further but he stopped when she refused and drove her home.

The magistrate found that the case had not been proven and warned about the dangers of excessive familiarity at the workplace. This could lead to serious problems, he said, as he encourage workplaces to have clear sexual harassment policies in place.