Police inspectors and a lawyer representing Keith Schembri clashed in court on Tuesday over insinuations made by the latter that Melvin Theuma was arrested in the past days.

Lawyer Edward Gatt repeatedly asked prosecuting inspectors Nicholas Vella and Brian Paul Camilleri whether Theuma had been arrested for having accepted a phantom job in 2017.

Vella and Camilleri denied that was the case, and stuck to that reply as Gatt pressed on and said that the inspectors may be “playing with words”.

The clash came at the tail end of a sitting in which a magistrate ruled that the court could not decide on a request filed by Schembri’s lawyers to have Theuma’s testimony removed from the case. 

That decision means Schembri will most likely file a constitutional reference regarding the case, to have that request decided upon by a higher court.

The case centres on an admission made by Theuma that he was given a phantom public sector job before the 2017 general election, after meeting with Schembri at Castille.

Theuma – who has confessed that he served as a middleman in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia – told the police that he received pay cheques as a driver-messenger employed by the state-owned Housing Maintenance and Embellishment Co Ltd. but never did any of the work.

Five people, among them Schembri as well as business tycoon and murder complicity suspect Yorgen Fenech, face criminal charges in connection with those claims. All five are pleading not guilty.

But last week, Theuma opted not to testify in the case that is based on his claims, after lawyers could not agree on whether the presidential pardon he received for confessing to his role in the Caruana Galizia murder also covered his admissions in relation to this job.

If they did not, lawyers representing the defendants argued, then Theuma should also be among those facing criminal charges.

Theuma subsequently chose not to testify, immediately prompting Schembri’s lawyers to ask the court to strike Theuma’s confession to the police from the case records.

On Tuesday, magistrate Monica Vella told parties that the court could not decide on that request, as its function was solely to receive evidence related to the crimes being alleged.

Schembri’s lawyers said their client could not get a fair trial unless Theuma could be cross-examined and indicated that they would be seeking a constitutional reference to have the testimony removed from the case.

Gatt, representing Schembri, then pressed the inspectors to confirm that Theuma had indeed been arrested in the past days.

Inspectors Nicholas Vella and Brian Paul Camilleri replied that they were not aware of that.

“Can the inspector verify now whether Theuma was arrested over this case? Can one of them [the inspectors] go outside the hall to verify? Could they call?” Gatt insisted.

Following a brief moment outside the hall, Vella came back, saying that both “[police commissioner] Angelo Gafà and his deputy Alexandra Mamo had confirmed that presently the witness Melvin Theuma was not arrested in relation to this case.”

But that reply was not deemed satisfactory.

The court wanted the prosecution to clarify whether Theuma had been arrested since his last appearance in court on Friday.

Schembri and Theuma in the former's office at Castille. Theuma says he was given the phantom job following this meeting.

“No,” said both inspectors, confirming that Theuma had not been arrested.

“If I were to confirm that that is not true, I will do what I have to do,” Gatt heatedly insisted, pointing out that there was a difference between “arrested” and “spoken to,” hinting that the prosecution could be playing around with words. 

Lawyer Stefano Filletti, assisting former HME Co. Ltd. CEO Anthony Muscat, intervened, arguing that for some reason “known only to them,” the prosecution chose not to charge Theuma so that he would testify against the other co-accused.

Yet when he came to testify, he chose not to.

“Someone is playing a game beyond the walls of these courts. Using a loophole in the law not to charge Theuma as co-perpetrator. Is this equality of arms?” argued Filletti.

A lawyer for another of the accused, former OPM customer care head Sandro Craus, said that his client had been ‘misguided’ during the inquiry and ended up facing charges when he ought to have been a witness.

At the next sitting, the defence is to present any request for a constitutional reference and also make submissions for prima facie purposes. Prosecutors have said they have no more evidence to present.

Lawyers Edward Gatt and Mark Vassallo assisted Keith Schembri. Lawyer Stefano Filletti assisted Muscat. Lawyers Vince Micallef and Ryan Ellul assisted former Family Ministry private secretary Anthony Mario Ellul. Lawyers Michael and Lucio Sciriha assisted Sandro Craus. Lawyers Gianluca Caruana Curran and Charles Mercieca assisted Yorgen Fenech.