The Justice Minister has said it is "premature" to comment on whether it intends to suspend Commissioner for Justice Alessandro Lia, following a magistrate's decision ordering the police commissioner to press charges against him.
The order comes after Victor Sant, Lia's former father-in-law, sought criminal action against him for allegedly being complicit and fraud and falsification.
Lia, who is a lawyer by profession, serves as a Commissioner for Justice, which sees him presiding over regional tribunal hearings about minor offences, including drug possession, traffic violations and school truancy.
On Tuesday evening, Prime Minister Robert Abela said that Justice Minister Jonathan Attard was keeping tabs on the case and hinted at action when he said that Lia should be held to higher standards because of his role.
“When you occupy a judicial role, it is different to holding any other role. The criteria that apply need to be more rigorous,” Abela said yesterday.
However, in reply to questions sent by Times of Malta, the Justice Ministry appeared to pour cold water on the idea and suggested that the order to charge Lia could be appealed by the police.
"The challenge procedure and subsequent judicial decision you are referring to is still in the period and subject to the possibility of an appeal before the Criminal Court," a ministry spokesperson said.
"Therefore, the Ministry believes it would be premature to make any definitive statements at this time."
According to the proceedings filed by Sant, Lia had offered to handle the scrapping of his former father-in-law's car and Sant had agreed, duly handing over the car and its logbook.
After some time and after pressing him for details, Sant said that Lia had told him he had only managed to sell the car for €100.
But when he called Transport Malta to inquire after the vehicle, he said it was discovered that it had not been scrapped, but transferred to a third party.
This would have required Sant's ID card and a signed declaration to be processed, but he said that the signature on the form sent to Transport Malta was not his.