A man charged with stabbing his stepdaughters has won €2,000 in compensation over delays in a separate case in which he was charged with fraud and circulation of fake currency.

Nazzareno Dalli, known as Ronald, was first charged in September 2004 after police traced him as one of the suspects allegedly involved in a series of thefts from fuel service stations. 

He was acquitted last year, after it emerged that the police’s only witness was the prosecuting officer.

He then called on the state to pay him damages after the dragged-out proceedings forced him to put his life on hold.

Through his lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri, Dalli claimed that the duration of the court case was in breach of his right to be tried within a reasonable time. The case was put off 29 times at the request of the prosecution.

He was not responsible for any of the delays as he had only failed to attend one sitting because he was sick and provided a medical certificate.

The case in the First Hall of the Civil Court in its constitutional jurisdiction was filed against the police commissioner, the attorney general and the state advocate.

This week, a court presided by Judge Ian Spitery Bailey ruled that the delay breached his rights and awarded him €2,000 in moral damages, payable within three months of the final judgment.

It ordered the police commissioner - who needs to settle the €2,000 bill - to carry out an internal investigation into whether the breach was caused by a member of the force who failed to carry out their duties.

It also asked for a copy of the judgment to be passed on to the justice and home affairs ministries to take note of the fact that, during these 20 years, it took over eight years for the police to reassign an officer to take over the prosecution. In the meantime, the sole pending witness died.

Dalli separately stands accused of attempting to murder his ex-partner’s daughters.

He is pleading not guilty to the attempted murder of the girls, aged 12 and 15 years old, in their home in Triq San Tumas in Marsa on March 9.

The younger one was stabbed in the heart and lost up to 40 per cent of her blood, while the other was slightly injured.