A VRT station owner who last March was jailed after he admitted to being involved in a testing scam has been handed a legal lifeline after a court of appeal found that he had not fully understood the implications of pleading guilty.
XTC VRT station owner Jesmond Pulis, 52, from Żabbar, had been arraigned on multiple charges following a scam which involved issuing VRT certificates for vehicles which had not been properly tested.
Mr Pulis had also faced charges related to illegally employing workers, as well as relapsing into crime.
READ: Jail time for VRT owner who issued false certificates
Following his arraignment, Mr Pulis had refused the help of a lawyer and admitted his guilt, harbouring the impression that he would be let off with an extension of an earlier suspended sentence. Mr Pulis had insisted on his guilty plea despite having been warned of the consequences by the magistrate.
In reality, he ended up facing the prospect of five years behind bars, paying a €10,000 and losing his station licence.
The sentence prompted Mr Pulis to seek the assistance of a lawyer, who filed an appeal against the judgment on the grounds that Mr Pulis had been misled by the prosecuting officer during the pre-trial stage.
It appeared that the officer handling the investigation had led the suspect to believe that if he were to admit to the wrongdoing he would likely get an extension of an earlier suspended sentence or hours of community work.
The court of appeal, presided over by Mr Justice Giovanni Grixti, observed that an accused person's rights enter into effect from the moment he is taken under arrest, well before his arraignment in court.
In this case, Mr Pulis had never been made fully aware of the consequences of his admission, the appeals court found. While the first court had fully abided by legal procedure, it had not gauged the understanding of the accused.
The court therefore upheld the appeal, revoked the judgment and ordered that the case be reheard before the same Magistrates’ Court.
Lawyer Roberto Montalto assisted Mr Pulis.