A former drug addict has been spared a two-year jail term for putting into circulation a false €50 note after the court of appeal noted that he was now “a reformed man” sufficiently trustworthy to merit probation. The court also expressed fears that sending him to jail would put him at risk of slipping back from the progress he had made.

Neeson Abela, 24, had landed the conviction after having, in May 2015, turned up at a Birkirkara mini-market, handing over a folded €50 note which he needed to change.

The cashier had handed over two €20 and a €10 note which Mr Abela promptly pocketed, hurriedly making his way out of the shop.

The cashier immediate realized that the money was fake. The paper felt different, its colour looked different too and it also lacked normal security features.

She ran outside, just in time to spot Mr Abela climb into a Fiat Punto and speed off. The police were called in at once.

CCTV footage from the shop soon led to Mr Abela's arrest. He denied any knowledge that the banknote had been false, but refused to disclose its source.

The then 20-year old told police that he had been out on his lunch break with his employer’s son, Jordan Azzopardi, and had wanted to change the €50 note since a nearby pastizzeria where he meant to buy some lunch, had run out of petty cash.

The accused’s friend on that day, Mr Azzopardi, was also spoken to by the police, insisting that he had never left the car and had no idea about what took place inside the shop.

The Magistrates’ Court had declared Mr Abela guilty, condemning him to a 2-year effective jail term.

He appealed, his lawyers arguing that he had lacked criminal intent since he did not know that the banknote was false. Moreover, the punishment was excessive.

The Court of Criminal Appeal, presided over by Madam Justice Edwina Grima, when re-examining the evidence, observed that Mr Abela's behaviour, even as filmed on footage from the scene of the crime, left no doubt as to his criminal intent.

The note was folded when it was handed over, observed the court, adding that just as its falsity was immediately evident to the cashier, likewise it must have also been evident to Mr Abela himself, who thus could not claim that he was unaware that the currency was false.

The court also threw out the claim that Mr Abela had fled since he had been in a hurry to get back to work, noting that such a hurry had not been sensed when he entered the shop.

As for the punishment, the court noted that the 2-year jail term was an “absolute minimum” in terms of law.

However, after hearing the testimony of a probation officer and a Caritas representative, praising Mr Abela’s progress and his success in overcoming his drug problem, the court considered an exception in the law that allowed a punishment below the minimum in such circumstances.

After also taking note of a social enquiry report and the fact that Mr Abelahad the chance to work abroad, the court converted the jail term to a 3-year Probation Order declaring that Mr Abela would risk slipping back on his progress were he to be sent to jail.

In view of such considerations, as well as the fact that the money had been refunded within two days, the court upheld the appeal, varying the punishment and declaring that Mr Abela had “matured considerably” as to merit the variation.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri were counsel to the appellant.