A man has been cleared of misappropriating an outboard engine after the court noted that there was insufficient evidence to support the charges brought against him.

Carmel Flask was charged with the misappropriation of an outboard engine worth Lm3,500 from RLR Ltd.

The court, presided over by magistrate Audrey Demicoli, heard how Mr Flask had signed a contract with RLR Ltd on 6 July 1999 to pay the full amount by a hire purchase system.

In his testimony, Mr Flask said he had paid a deposit of Lm2,000 but had fallen behind with his payments.

He added that he knew the outboard engine was not his property until he had paid for it in full. However, when he was asked where the engine was, Mr Flask told the police that he did not know, claiming it had been stolen three months earlier in Senglea.

When asked why he had not reported the theft to the police, Mr Flask replied that he could not read and as a result could not provide the police with the engine’s serial number.

Mr Flask told the court that he did not think of taking the

contract to the police so that they could read the serial number, and added that he had not continued paying the instalments because he was not earning any money.

The court noted that a guilty charge requires evidence that Mr Flask misappropriated the engine and this had not been proved.

It said that because charges of misappropriation had not been proved, it was finding Mr Flask not guilty.

Police Inspector Angelo Gafá prosecuted while Dr Richard Sladden appeared for Mr Flask.