A married man has been acquitted of stealing his wife’s passport so that his girlfriend could use it to join him and his daughter on a week-long holiday in Belgium.

Alturouq Ali Mohammed Ali, a 39-year old Libyan living in Malta, had his holiday cut short when Belgian police knocked at his hotel room last August, arresting both him and his lover after a report had reached the police in Malta from the man’s wife.

The woman had turned up at the Hamrun police station in mid-August, claiming that her husband had stolen her personal documents before leaving home with the couple’s daughter.

He had told her that he was taking the child to the playground but had used her documents to take his girlfriend on a holiday abroad with his daughter, the wife had claimed.

That report had resulted in her husband’s arrest abroad.

In September he faced charges before the Magistrates’ Courts, pleading not guilty to stealing his wife’s passport and residence permit, which theft was aggravated by the fact that the documents were taken from the couple’s home.

He was also charged with transferring the passport to his girlfriend.

The man insisted that his girlfriend had only helped him book the flights for himself and his daughter. It was only on the day of departure that the woman, Doghmi Nezha, had turned up at the airport, luggage in hand, announcing that she was joining them on the trip.

He denied telling his wife that he was taking their daughter to the playground before leaving home.

He said that his girlfriend had handed him the flight tickets at the airport, prior to departure, adding that Nezha herself would testify in court about how she had taken his wife’s documents.

His girlfriend did actually testify, after landing a jail term in separate proceedings, and confirmed the accused’s version, claiming that she had taken the family passports from his car.

She recounted how she had wanted to surprise Alturouq by booking the holiday without him knowing, using his credit card which he had handed over, and had only sprung the surprise on the morning of the planned departure.

Nezha also testified that she had booked the first night accommodation via the accused’s mobile phone, explaining that he would not be aware since he did not read nor understand English.

When delivering judgment the court, presided over by magistrate Victor George Axiak, declared that Nezha’s testimony was not credible and even contradicted the accused’s version in certain respects.

However, faced with insufficient evidence, the court was not morally convinced as to pronounce a conviction.

Given that the man’s estranged wife had apparently lost all interest in the matter and had left Malta even before criminal proceedings had kicked off, refusing to return to testify, the court could not rely on her declaration at the police station.

The prosecution had done its utmost to bring the woman to the witness stand, the court observed, noting how when contacted over the phone she had apparently rang off.

The accused’s lawyer had rightly objected to the woman’s statement which had not been tested in court under oath and the court had upheld that objection.

The accused’s statement and his girlfriend’s testimony were not conclusive in proving that it was the accused who had transferred the passport to his girlfriend, nor that he had stolen the documents, said the court, thus pronouncing an acquittal.

Lawyer Mario Mifsud was defence counsel.