Albert Muscat, 41, of Msida was today cleared of stealing electricity and tampering with his electrical meter after the court ruled the charges against him were time-barred.

Two charges were originally instituted against Mr Muscat however a year later the prosecution altered the charges to include the charge of relapsing.

The defence team argued that when the magistrate had initially ordered the charges, the court started the proceedings once again. Due to the fact that the case took another year to start again, the charges became time-barred.

Lawyer Stefano Filletti defended the accused.