A female drug addict struggling with medical and mental problems has had her 12-month effective jail term drastically reduced on appeal after the court accepted that there had been no drug trafficking involved.

Deborah Farrugia was arrested after being caught red-handed in her bedroom together with her partner, after a night of drug abuse. The mattress bore traces of the suspected drug, while weighing scales was also nearby.

The woman had reacted rather aggressively and, in the course of being arrested, had kicked out at the mattress, scattering the tell-tale powder in such a way that it could not be fully retrieved by the police.

An appeal was filed by the woman's lawyer asking for the sentence to be reviewed since this was not a case of trafficking but rather one of “sharing”

In April 2011, she was declared guilty of cocaine and heroin trafficking, of having knowingly tried to cover up the traces of her wrongdoing and of having threatened the police while resisting arrest. She was also convicted for being a relapser and condemned to an effective jail term of 12 months, and a fine of €1,000.

An appeal was filed by the woman's lawyer asking for the sentence to be reviewed since this was not a case of trafficking but rather one of “sharing” – for which the law allowed court discretion and the ability to mete out a punishment below the prescribed minimum.

The court of appeal, presided over by Mr Justice Giovanni Grixti, observed that this was clearly a case of drug sharing between the accused and her partner. The two forked out money to furnish themselves with drugs which they consumed together within the confines of their home.

There was no evidence that the accused had supplied drugs to any other third party or that the couple took drugs outside their home. The weighing scales found during the search were used by the accused to verify the quantity of drugs purchased and the dose to be consumed.

Noting that the accused was receiving treatment for both mental and medical problems, the court declared that the only way of encouraging the woman to turn over a new leaf was to apply a punishment below the minimum.

For this reason and also in view of the small amount of drug involved, the court upheld the appeal and reduced the jail term from 12 to 3 months, slashing the €1,000 fine to €200.

Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi was defence counsel.