Two men were jailed for two years suspended for two years after they were found guilty of faking a Vehicle Roadworthiness Test certificate and issuing a certificate for a vehicle which had not even been tested.

The men are Biagio Muscat, 51, from Zejtun and Twanny Fenech, 49, from Tarxien. The court heard how the police received an anonymous tip-off that Muscat, who owns a garage and is licensed to test vehicles for the VRT before a road licence is issued, was fiddling with VRT certificates.

The police went to the garage but no test was being conducted at the time. The investigators, however, found a VRT certificate of a Ford Transit which they discovered belonged to Dennis Fenech. The police spoke to Mr Fenech who told them that the van was parked outside his house.

When they checked the van, the police found that its engine was still cold, indicating that it had not been used some time before. They also noticed that the van had faulty wipers and its headlights were not working. Mr Fenech informed police that he had told his brother, Twanny Fenech, to take the van and get it VRT tested.

When they spoke to Twanny Fenech, he told police that he had taken the van’s logbook to Muscat’s garage in Zejtun and was told to pass for the VRT certificate two days later. The police concluded that Muscat had issued the VRT certificate for a vehicle he had not tested and charged him as well as Twanny Fenech in court.

Magistrate Giovanni Grixti ruled that the prosecution had managed to prove its case against the two men and handed down a suspended two-year jail term to each of them.

Police Inspector Joseph Cordina prosecuted.