A woman, caught in possession of seven ecstasy pills in her bag when partying in Gozo with friends five years ago, was fined €100 after convincing the court that she had only paid for two pills and had since rid herself of bad habits.
The 36-year-old woman from St Paul's Bay landed on the wrong side of the law in February 2016 whilst joining the Nadur carnival celebrations with three friends, buying some ecstasy pills before heading out to a party.
Police inspections had targeted the suspect in carnival costume, seated in the driver’s seat along with two of her friends.
A search of her bag yielded the seven pills which were later certified as ecstasy.
Although the incident happened in 2016, criminal proceedings against the woman kicked off in 2019, the court observed when delivering judgment on Thursday, remarking that such cases were to be handled without delay.
Had the accused waited for these proceedings to get her life back on track, it might well have been too late, said Magistrate Joseph Mifsud, presiding over the case in the Gozo courts.
The accused had chosen to testify in the proceedings, explaining how the group of friends had pooled money for the drugs they had bought at Nadur at €10 for each pill.
She had paid €20 for her share but in the rush, had offered to keep all seven pills inside her bag, taking responsibility for the lot when questioned by police.
She later explained that she had not wished to spill the beans on her friends.
At the time, there was no right to legal assistance during police interrogation under Maltese law.
On the basis of all evidence and after assessing the accused’s behaviour at the witness stand, the court deemed her version as credible and thus declared her guilty of simple possession of her share of pills.
The court also lent weight to the testimony of a social worker who had helped the accused free herself of her bad habits.
Moreover, the court made reference to amendments currently being debated in Parliament which are set to provide the judiciary with a wider discretion when deciding upon certain drug cases, in light of the amount of drugs involved, the character of the accused and circumstances indicating that the drugs were for immediate personal use or sharing.
Those amendments offered “a ray of light” by allowing proportionate punishment for relatively minor offences and better chances of rehabilitation of the accused, said magistrate Mifsud.
In the past, courts’ attempts to offer a chance to offenders to rehabilitate, were often undone by appeals filed by the AG, observed the magistrate, adding that it was one thing to interpret laws while working in an office but quite a different matter when seeking to strike a balance in court.
Such balance was necessary for the good of society itself, the victims of crime as well as the accused who needed help to rid themselves of their burden so that they may be reintegrated within society.
In light of such considerations, the court declared the woman guilty of simple possession and ordered her to pay a €100 fine.
Inspector Justine Grech prosecuted.