A man who allegedly made a series of bomb hoax calls will have to give a voice sample to the courts after a judge ruled it would not breach his rights.
Richard Cuschieri, 42, from Ħamrun, was charged with threatening to blow up the courts on five occasions in 2012 when he was due to appear there in connection with a fraud case.
The calls were allegedly made on March 16 and 26, April 19, May 31 and June 18, 2012. During his arraignment, on June 25 that year, he was also charged with lodging false reports to the police and causing fear of violence. He pleaded not guilty.
Police officers had told the court the calls were made from mobile phones and telephone booths. It resulted that he had used mobile phones without a SIM card but investigators tracked them to the accused through sophisticated mobile location devices. (Mobile phones allow callers to dial emergency numbers without a SIM card.
Forcing him to give a voice sample, the court was leading him to incriminate himself
In September 2012, the prosecution asked the court to order Mr Cuschieri to give a voice sample for comparison purposes. The court accepted but Mr Cuschieri filed a court application in the First Hall of the Civil Court, in its constitutional jurisdiction, claiming this would breach his right to a fair hearing. He argued that, by forcing him to give a voice sample, the court was leading him to incriminate himself.
He also argued that the law did not specifically allow the courts to order that a voice sample be taken. The law did say that the courts could order a DNA sample but there was no mention of voice, he submitted.
The Attorney General objected and noted that the law allowed a magistrate a degree of flexibility when collecting evidence needed to successfully conclude a case. This included voice recordings.
Madam Justice Jacqueline Padovani Grima, sitting in the First Hall, noted that a voice recording was less invasive than medical tests. She agreed that the courts had the authority to order such recordings and this did not breach the right to a fair hearing.
Moreover, the voice sample would be taken with legal safeguards in place, under the court’s watch and by an independent expert.
The judge turned down Mr Cuschieri’s application and upheld the order to submit the voice sample.