Ex-police officer cleared of stealing impounded car after charge sheet failures

A former police officer has been acquitted of taking parts off an impounded car that was on its way to the scrapyard, for use by an acquaintance, with the court finding shortcomings in the charge sheet.

Instead of listing the date and location of the alleged crime as required to do, police officers wrote that the incident occurred "in the past months or years” at “Kalkara or on these islands”.

Lawrence Mifsud, 66, who was then a constable at the Police Garage, was charged after the police received an anonymous letter on December 22, 2020.

It claimed that two impounded Peugeot vehicles had been stolen from the Police Garage and towed to a private residence to be dismantled by Mifsud and other officers.

It was alleged that one of the doors was removed from an impounded vehicle and placed on a car belonging to Doris Balzan, an acquaintance of the accused, while other parts were left at the woman’s residence.

Police inspector Saviour Baldacchino testified that the police went to the residence where they found another Peugeot 206 vehicle parked outside. The woman said that the vehicle was registered in her daughter's name, but she made use of it.

The officers noticed that one of the car's back doors was sprayed blue on the outside and silver inside, and there was no upholstery. Balzan said that the door had been changed after a collision.

In a nearby field, the police found several spare parts of a Peugeot 206.

During interrogation, Balzan explained that she had asked Mifsud for parts. He later called her and said that he had two Peugeot vehicles which could be taken to her residence and dismantled for parts. A week later, he picked up the cars and took them to be scrapped.

Mifsud told the woman that he worked at the Police Garage, which was being emptied, with impounded vehicles being taken to a scrapyard. He also identified a Peugeot 206, which was good for parts.

Accused saw 'nothing wrong'

The woman said that she offered payment, which he refused.

When Mifsud was arrested and interrogated, he confirmed that he took the car from the Police Garage. He saw nothing wrong with that since the vehicle was going to be scrapped anyway, and it had no value.

He saw nothing wrong with taking parts before the car was scrapped. He confirmed taking the car to Balzan, picking it up, and scrapping it later.

Under cross-examination, Inspector Baldacchino explained that the vehicle in question had been impounded by the police in 2019. It was listed as “derelict”, but no one claimed it back.

The woman, who was not prosecuted, only paid for the towing, but Mifsud did not take any payment for the parts.

It also emerged that when scrapping impounded vehicles, the police sought different estimates, and the scrapyard chosen had offered €40 per tonne of metal.

The police took two cars for scrappage, one of which was full of construction debris. The scrapyard operators were dismayed to find out the vehicle was not cleaned out and told the police that the payments are made on the weight of the metal. The police agreed to set off the discrepancy by sending the Peugeot 206 to set off the weight.

The woman’s brother testified that he had seen Mifsud and another police man, nicknamed “Sway”, unloading a grey Peugeot from a police truck next to his sister’s residence. They started dismantling the vehicle, and he then overheard them say that it did not match Balzan’s vehicle.

A second car was brought over, and this time it matched Balzan’s. When the witness was about to start dismantling the headlights, he overheard some neighbours alleging that the vehicles had been stolen. He stopped what he was doing and left.

He also testified that Balzan told him Mifsud took two cars stolen from Ta’ Kandja, and if he ever needed some parts, he could always ask him.

Some days later, the witness said he was stopped in Cospicua, and the accused offered him €2,000 to go to the police station and say that he was not the one on the road with the vehicles.

A scrapyard representative testified about the procedure used for the police to scrap vehicles, with payment being made on the basis of the weight of the metal.

Police officer Jeffrey Gilson testified that he worked together with Mifsud, and confirmed the Peugeot 206 had been sent to a scrapyard and was not weighed, since it was intended to set off for the money paid on a vehicle loaded with debris. The Peugeot 206 had been towed away by Mifsud.

A court-appointed expert estimated the parts found near Balzan’s residence at about €1,700.

These included four doors, a bonnet, a radiator, a condenser, a set of alloy wheels, as well as a bumper belonging to a Honda Del Sol and a Jaguar S class door.  

In its considerations, the court observed that the police officer had allegedly misappropriated parts of the car and given them to Balzan to be used on her car.

The woman confirmed in her testimony that she was involved in a collision and spoke with Mifsud about needing a door. She offered him money, which he did not accept. Moreover, Mifsud had confessed to taking the car to Balzan but said the vehicle had been released and was going to be scrapped.

From the evidence, it emerged that the car was indeed released and was not weighed once at the scrapyard.

Charge sheet failures

The court observed that the police failed to include the date and place where the alleged crime took place, while different witnesses made reference to different dates and locations.

The charge sheet stated that the offence took place “in the past months or years” at “Kalkara or on these islands”.

The court made reference to the Criminal Code, which states: “The summons shall contain a clear designation of the person summoned and a brief statement of the facts of the charge together with such particulars as to time and place as it may be necessary or practicable to give.”

The court held that for the charge to subsist, the prosecution had to prove that the alleged offence was committed by the accused when he had been entrusted with the vehicle as a police officer.

While the prosecution had brought evidence to show that the accused worked as a constable between May 2016 and February 2020, there was no specific mention of when the alleged crime took place.

It then quoted (former chief justice) Professor Anthony Mamo’s notes on embezzlement, in which he said that “In order that the public officer may be guilty of this particular crime it is essential that those things have been entrusted to him by virtue of his office or employment”.

As for the location, the court noted that the charge sheet made mention of “Kalkara or on these islands” while the anonymous letter stated specifically where the crime took place.

The court also held that no evidence was brought to show that the parts on Balzan’s car had been taken from the Peugeot 206 that was in police possession.

It did not result in the accused making any gain from the incident.

Nor was it proven that he had an intention to misuse the object given to him.

The court therefore acquitted the former constable.

Magistrate Astrid May Grima presided. Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Jacob Magri assisted Mifsud.  

Inspector Saviour Baldacchino prosecuted the case.