A Valletta man was yesterday cleared of fraud, misappropriation and relapsing, with a magistrates’ court saying that it should have been put to the Civil Court for damages.

Albano Grima, 37, was cleared of defrauding Charmaine Tanti and Victor Lia out of less than Lm500 between August 2003 and August 2004.

He was also cleared of misappropriating Ms Tanti’s rent dues which were to be paid to the landlord, Mr Lia. As a result, he was also cleared of relapsing in view of previous convictions and committing a crime during the operative period of a suspended prison sentence.

It turned out that the case was one where the accused had originally rented a flat from Victor Lia. The lease agreement stated that the accused could not sublet the apartment, however, he admitted doing so, even though he knew he was not allowed to do so. The court, presided over by magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, said that the case in question was one that should have gone to the Civil Court where Mr Lia could have filed for damages, as could Ms Tanti as a result of her being evicted.

The court, however, said that charges of misappropriation and fraud were not proven. Police inspector Kevin Borg prosecuted while Dr Roberto Montalto and Dr Jose Herrera appeared for the defence.