A tourist visiting Gozo earlier this summer came in for a nasty surprise when she saw a man masturbating in some bushes near Dwejra while staring at her.

A 26-year-old man from San Lawrenz Gozo was accused of offending public morals following a police report filed by the tourist, Henrika Linda Swaziland.

In her report, Ms Swaziland said that on 27 July 2015 a man called out to her by the Dwejra tower near the Azure window.  

She thought this was strange as she did not know the man and she was the only other person in the vicinity.

Ms Swaziland walked away but the man followed her, and got into a distinctive looking car with prominent bumper stickers on the back window.

The man stopped to offer her a lift up the hill, which Ms Swaziland refused.

She said the man then drove off up the hill to San Lawrenz, performed a U-turn further up and stopped to look at her.

When she came to the second bend on the hill where the car had stopped she heard a sound in the bushes on her left and saw the man masturbating and staring at her.

Ms Swaziland ran off towards San Lawrenz and did not see the man again.

She tried to file a police report at the San Lawrenz and Gharb police stations, but both were closed.

A report was filed three days later.

The police spoke to the man, who said he was fishing at Dwejra at the time of the reported incident.

He denied offering to give Ms Swaziland a lift and masturbating in the bushes.

The 26-year-old man explained to the police that he is under probation and undergoing therapy, therefore would not do such things.

Ms Swaziland admitted that she did not get a proper look at the man she saw masturbating in the bushes and she was unable to positively identify him as the accused, though she identified the man’s car due to its distinctive decals. 

Magistrate Joanne Vella Cuschieri said she saw no reason why a tourist visiting the island for a few days would invent such a story and waste time running after the police to file a report if the incident had not happened.

The Magistrate ruled that there was no doubt Ms Swaziland was telling the truth “from beginning to end” and it was probably the accused who perpetrated the crime, though this could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt and the fact that the man’s car was not seen parked by the bushes further compounded matters for the court.

The Magistrate discharged the man and lambasted the police for not doing more to investigate the case, such as going on site and taking pictures in order to help the court reach a different verdict.