Keith Schembri was in possession of a confidential police email, prosecution told a court on Thursday during criminal proceedings against the former chief-of-staff.

Schembri is being charged with perjury and breaching the Official Secrets Act.

The charges follow a five-year probe triggered when Yorgen Fenech, charged with complicity in the 2017 murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, claimed information about the investigation was leaked to him by Schembri.

At the time, Schembri was Joseph Muscat's chief of staff.

The case proceeded under magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit after magistrate Gianella Camilleri Busuttil recused herself last month.

The prosecution presented evidence showing that Schembri had access to a confidential internal police email about two Maltese people who were mistakenly arrested in Sicily.

While testifying, Inspector Brian Paul Camilleri said WhatsApp chats between Schembri and Fenech showed an instance where Fenech was asking about an Interpol investigation, and Schembri replied that a “solution was found”.

The case they referred to was about two Maltese people - Michael Bonello and Paul Anthony Sammut - who were mistakenly arrested by the Italian police due to a mix up over the name of a company.

Fenech happened to be a friend of the two people who were arrested, so he asked Schembri for more information on this case.

The defence lawyers shed doubt on this evidence, by pointing out how this case had nothing to do with Caruana Galizia’s death.

The prosecution argued that although the content of this email had nothing to do with Caruana Galizia’s murder, Schembri should have never been in possession of the information in the email.

Lawyers Mark Vassallo and Edward Gatt also appeared for Schembri. Superintendent Hubert Cini and police inspector Shaun Friggieri are prosecuting.

Jason Azzopardi and Therese Comodini Cachia were parte civile.