Former GRTU chief Vince Farrugia wants to testify in proceedings filed by developer Sandro Chetcuti who wants him prosecuted for perjury.
Through his legal counsel, Mr Farrugia insisted yesterday he had a right to give his version but Mr Chetcuti’s lawyer and the Police Commissioner argued he was extraneous to the proceedings.
The parties made their arguments, at times heated, before Magistrate Aaron Bugeja who is hearing an application, known as a challenge in legal jargon, in which Mr Chetcuti is asking the court to order the police to charge Mr Farrugia with inducing witnesses to give false evidence, perjury and fabrication of false evidence.
In September 2013, Mr Chetcuti had been convicted of having slightly injured Mr Farrugia when he assaulted him at the Valletta offices of the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises – GRTU in 2010. He had been sentenced to one month in prison, suspended for one year.
Mr Chetcuti had originally been accused of Mr Farrugia’s attempted murder but the prosecution had dropped the charge with the most serious charge being that of assault with intent to cause serious injury.
Magistrate Edwina Grima, who has since been promoted to judge, had also ordered the police to investigate Mr Farrugia and other witnesses who could have testified falsely before the court.
The court had noted that even before the court procedures had started, Mr Farrugia had tried to use his influential position to ensure that Mr Chetcuti faced a trial by media.
SMS messages and other contacts produced as evidence in court showed that he had contacted journalists and even vetted articles and comments prior to publication.
The challenge proceedings were meant to be concluded yesterday but Mr Farrugia filed an urgent application to testify.
Lawyer Edward Gatt, representing Mr Chetcuti, insisted that Mr Farrugia “had nothing to do with the case” because the challenge proceedings had been filed against the Police Commissioner.
Allowing him to testify would open a Pandora’s Box and would set “a dangerous precedent”, the lawyer said, adding that the law did not allow a third party to testify during such proceedings.
Police inspectors James Grech and Sandro Camilleri, appearing for the Police Commissioner, agreed with Dr Gatt.
However, lawyer Steve Tonna Lowell, appearing for Mr Farrugia, accused the other parties of trying to stop the court from hearing all possible available evidence allowing it to reach its decision. “The court must hear the whole truth and not part of it or the version of just one side of a story. The real victim in this case was and will remain Mr Farrugia,” he said.
Dr Gatt hit back saying that if Mr Farrugia was originally the victim in the criminal case against his client, the roles had now been inverted, with the police having been ordered to prosecute Mr Farrugia after a court noted that he could have possibly lied under oath and manipulated the evidence to suit himself.
The magistrate said he could decide on the matter in camera.
Lawyers William Cuschieri and Jean Karl Farrugia also appeared for Mr Chetcuti and Mr Farrugia respectively.