A man was today acquitted of drug trafficking at Mt Carmel Mental Hospital but jailed for 18 months for being in possession of drugs at the hospital.

The alleged trafficking happened in 2000 but the accused, Sandro Mifsud, 38, was only arraigned in 2005 even though the Attorney General had given approval for the case to be heard summarily before a Magistrate in 2000.

When the case started being heard in November 2005, it emerged that police statements by three hospital inmates who had claimed that drug trafficking took place, were not inserted in the acts of the proceedings.  They were later declared missing.

The Magistrate said it was unfortunate for the prosecution that the documents had disappeared, but the accused could not suffer as a result. It noted that the witnesses could not remember in court what they had told the police in their statements. It was only the prosecuting inspector who had said that the witnesses had given police statements, but he could not confirm the authenticity of photocopies of the statements that were exhibited in court. He could not remember if what was said in the photocopied statements was the same thing as the three men had actually told the police.

The court declared that the photocopies could not, therefore, be accepted as evidence.

The court noted that at the time of the alleged case, the accused had just served a 12-year-term on drug-related cases after having been given several chances to reform.

The accused was then jailed for 18 months on conviction of drug possession but was acquitted of the more serious charge of drug trafficking.

Dr Veronique Dalli was defence counsel.