A notary who had been acquitted of illegally carrying a gun was yesterday given a suspended jail term for the offence after the Attorney General appealed.

Mark Anthony Sammut was caught at the airport with a loaded semi-automatic gun in his briefcase after receiving death threats from a disgruntled client in 2005.

The client, Noel Xuereb, had threatened to kill Mr Sammut, blaming him for a contract gone wrong. The threats were such that Mr Sammut even fell ill and decided to carry a loaded gun with him everywhere. Given the background of both Mr Xuereb and his father, Dr Sammut was very worried and had decided to carry the gun just in case he felt threatened and had to scare his aggressors away, the court heard.

Criminal proceedings had been taken against Mr Xuereb and he was acquitted by the Magistrates’ Court after Mr Sammut failed to turn up in court to testify because he was scared to do so.

Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano said in the appeal judgment that Dr Sammut had the option to go to the police, which he did not do because he did not trust them.

Although he felt threatened, he was not forced by anybody to actually carry a gun. It was Dr Sammut’s own choice to do so, thus breaking the law.

The Chief Justice said he could understand and appreciate that someone would feel threatened, especially if such threats were coming from someone who was not the nicest person in the world. However, on the other hand, if he really wanted to, Mr Sammut could have resorted to other measures besides carrying the gun. He could, for example, ensure he was accompanied when he went out at night and could have also contacted the police.

The Chief Justice thus upheld the Attorney General’s appeal and found Mr Sammut guilty of illegally carrying the firearm, being in possession of the weapon and failing to notify the police of the gun when it came in his possession.

The court imposed a two-month jail term suspended for one year and fined Dr Sammut €104.