A convicted murderer yesterday filed a judicial protest to reclaim his Lm30,000 Rolex watch, which he claims went missing from the law courts’ strong room.

Charles Steven Muscat, jailed for two murders, filed a protest in court yesterday saying that the watch in question was lifted as evidence when police searched his home in 1994. He said that he was never given any receipts for any of the items that were taken to be used as evidence.

He filed a writ to the Court of Appeal which acquiesced to his request, but was told that the watch could not be found in the said strong room.

In addition, he said that according to court records, the watch was never exhibited at any point in the proceedings against him. However, he claimed that he remembered the watch being shown as evidence in the 1999 murder trial against him.

The complainant said that if the watch is not found, the court’s director general should be held responsible. He said that if the watch was not exhibited in court, then it should be in the Police Commissioner’s possession. He appealed for the watch to be given back, and held the director of the law courts and the police commissioner responsible for the disappearance of the watch. Dr Jose Herrera and Dr Veronique Dalli signed the protest.