Man handed suspended sentence after insulting magistrate on social media

A 52-year-old man was handed a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to insulting, threatening and harassing Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech through social media posts.

Winston Joseph Gera had admitted to the charges when he was first arraigned in May 2025, and a pre-sentencing report was requested by the defence.

The man had landed in the dock after Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech filed a report about a Facebook post by the accused.

The post read: “She got us into a situation where you cannot live. Soon it will be ten years, I cannot continue like this because a magistrate, who is mental, decided so...".

Gera went on to accuse the magistrate of being vindictive and said enough was enough, and he would not hold back.

The pair were prosecuted in 2017 after one of their employees filed a police report saying that she and her colleague were brought to Malta from China to work as massage therapists, only to see their passports seized on arrival.

Gera and Zhang were accused of human trafficking and forcing people into prostitution, among other charges.  

Magistrate Frendo Dimech had presided over a case and, in December 2020 sentenced the two to seven-year jail terms while decrying their actions as a form of refined slavery.

The judgment was subsequently annulled by the Court of Criminal Appeal on a technicality and the two have since been awaiting re-sentencing.

On Wednesday, the man was handed a one-year prison term suspended for four years. He was also fined €750.

The court issued a restraining order in favour of Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech. It also ordered that €2,000 of his €5,000 deposit is forfeited.

Magistrate Marse-Ann Farrugia warned the accused that he should not follow her fellow magistrate and should not enter her courtroom or harass her.

Police inspector Keith Xerri prosecuted. Lawyers Marion Camilleri and Anthea Bonnici Zammit appeared for the accused.