A woman who had filed a false police report against her estranged husband has had her conviction, including a 10-year general interdiction, confirmed on appeal.

Legal procurator Juanita Fenech had landed the conviction five years ago over a case which dated back to November 2010 when the woman had turned up at the Birkirkara police station to report that her estranged husband had threatened her outside her home.

She had claimed how she had been putting out the garbage at around 8am at her Attard home when the man had driven past, together with his brother, shouting abuse at her through the lowered window and warning that their son would not give evidence in court.

After reportedly speaking to her father and lawyers about the incident, she had “somehow reluctantly” filed a police report which led to her husband’s arrest, in view of the fact that his alleged presence outside the woman’s home amounted to a breach of court orders.

Indeed, the man had been granted bail, in relation to separate proceedings, under condition that he would not approach his estranged wife and son.

Yet when the man was summoned for questioning, he vehemently denied his wife’s allegation, explaining that on that occasion he had exited his brother’s home, where he had temporarily taken up residence, not earlier than 8.20am, following a route which did not take him anywhere close to his estranged wife’s residence.

The man’s version was corroborated not only by other members of the household but even by mobile phone localisation and CCTV footage from Attard streets which further proved that the woman’s story had been made up.

Acting upon a suspicion that the woman had filed a false report, prosecuting Inspector Elton Taliana, from the Birkirkara police station, had called upon the duty magistrate to issue an arrest warrant against Ms Fenech who subsequently admitted, under interrogation, that what she had reported had not been true.

In fact, she explained that on that day she had spotted her estranged husband and brother-in-law while driving through Balzan and had made up the false tale on account of her fear of the man at whose hands she had allegedly suffered domestic abuse.

Although admitting that she knew that her report was false, she had no idea that it could spell time in jail for her husband, but had only wished police to admonish him.

The Court of Criminal Appeal, presided over by Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera, rejected the accused’s appeal, after an in-depth study of the testimonies and other evidence put forward.

Although the appellant had argued that she had been gripped by psychological fear when releasing her statement to the police, the court observed that the woman was no newcomer to police interrogations since she had faced previous proceedings, as attested by her criminal record.

Declaring the appellant guilty of having filed a false report, which would have implied that her estranged husband had breached bail conditions, the court turned down the appeal, confirming the three-year probation as well as the 10-year general interdiction, pointing out that this was mandatory in terms of law.

Lawyer Kathleen Calleja Grima appeared parte civile.