A 30-year-old Guinean man today was charged with aggravated possession of 1 kg of cannabis resin. He resides in Marsa and woks as a tile layer, having arrived on the island in 2008, the Court heard.
Mamadi Keita was also charged with breaching bail, and pleaded guilty to the charges. Bail was requested, and defence lawyer Joeseph Mifsud argued the accused must be presumed innocent, and that the seriousness of a case cannot be a reason for not granting bail. “Someone can’t be granted bail if there is belief that he would be able to taint evidence or if the accused would abscond. In this case all the evidence is in police hands and he has been on the island since 2008, originally as an illegal immigrant and now working as a tile-layer”.
Defence argued that this case would most likely end up in front of a jury, and as such it would not conclude in just a couple of months, thus meaning that the defendant would lose out on earnings.
Inspector Nikolai Sant argued that the defendant has already breached bail on similar circumstances, “so he doesn’t know how to respect the courts. He also stated that he doesn’t have family ties in Malta and thus can abscond from the country. The Court must send a message to the country that such offences cannot be tolerated”.
The court, having heard both arguments, denied the bail request in view of the fact that he has no family ties on the island.