Prosecutions procedural error sees man acquitted for a third time on illegal gambling charges
This is the third time that the 61-year-old man from Ħamrun was acquitted of similar accusations due to procedural errors
A man who faced a number of charges pertaining to illegal gambling as well as the operation of a casino from a Marsa bar was acquitted after a procedural error and the inadmissibility of his statement meant that there was insufficient evidence to find guilt.
This is the third time that Raymond Schembri, a 61-year-old man from Ħamrun, was acquitted of similar accusations.
The Court said that whilst the charges emerging from the charge sheet referred to 6 December 2004, the raid which took place at the bar and effectively gave rise to the proceedings at hand was conducted one day later, and namely on 7 December 2004.
Indeed, Inspector Ray Aquilina had confirmed that during the raid, Schembri was found behind the counter of a bar. Police also found a notice board listing the horse races that were to take place that afternoon.
The Court said that the charge sheet had never been amended to reflect this fact, meaning that the Court was faced with a situation where although the proof put forward by the prosecution indicated that the facts giving rise to the case took place on 7 December 2004, the accused was charged with committing the crimes referred to in the charge sheet a day earlier. Thus, it had to be determined whether the proof put forward by the prosecution could result in guilt, with regard to the period of time indicated in the aforementioned charge sheet.
Reference was made to a statement provided by Schembri on 7 December 2004, where the latter answered a series of questions in such a manner that he incriminated himself on various occasions. In this regard, the defendant observed that at the time the statement was provided, he was not given the right to obtain legal assistance before the interrogation and simultaneously was not provided the right to be assisted by a lawyer during the interrogation.
At this juncture, the Court, making reference to decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, noted that although the fact that a person suspected of committing an offence provides a statement without the assistance of an advocate does not necessarily lead to a breach of the right to a fair trial, such a statement must be considered in light of various other factors, so that the probatory value thereof may be established.
It was ultimately concluded that although the law at the time did not provide for these aforementioned rights, the statement at hand, which would ultimately constitute a determining factor when considered in light of the proof put forward by the Prosecution, was not to be deemed as retaining probatory value.
The Court ultimately concluded that in light of all these considerations, it could not be held that enough proof was brought forward to conclude that Schembri was to be deemed guilty of the charges brought against him beyond reasonable doubt.
This is the third time that Raymond Schembri has been acquitted in relation to similar charges. In 2023, Schembri was cleared of charges pertaining to illegal gambling because the address cited on his charge sheet did not match that which witnesses testified about.
That same year, he was cleared of operating an unlicensed casino from a Marsa garage owing to a technical error by the prosecution, which indicated the wrong address in the charges.
Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri were defence counsel.
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