An inmate at the Corradino Correctional Facility was yesterday cleared of drug possession after the court ruled that the prosecution did not manage to prove its case.

Charles Muscat, known as “il-Pipps”, 40, was charged with heroin possession at St Luke’s Hospital on 23 February 2004. The court heard that Muscat was admitted to hospital for surgery and that during a search inside his bedside cabinet, members of the Police Force found a sachet containing 1.26 grams of heroin.

Handing down his judgement, Magistrate Lawrence Quintano said that according to evidence brought before the court, the accused was not in a secluded room but was in a cubicle in a large ward. Moreover, the bedside cabinet was not checked thoroughly before Muscat was admitted to hospital.

The court said that when Muscat received visits from family members, a member of the Special Assignment Group was always present and that before leaving prison, a personal search resulted negative.

Magistrate Quintano said that the prosecution did not manage to prove that the heroin was his and therefore cleared him of the charge.