As a permanent resident of Malta, I love the island, the people and my home in Mdina. As a result, I feel the need to share my pride with the excellent way the government, its officers and the Maltese people have dealt with the influx of evacuees from Libya. This may not have been 1941 or anything like it – but it was impressive all the same. It’s nice to know that this island still boasts that George Cross spirit.

Malta’s Keystone Kops take a beating in court

Regular followers of this column will remember the idiotic case of Svetlana Podgorska who came to Malta in 2008 to live with her Maltese partner.

Having held a management post in a British casino previously, she perceived that there might be an opportunity to run roulette tables and assorted other gambling games at weddings and business conferences where the winnings were ‘monopoly money’ and the overall winner got a certificate. She could derive her income by renting out the tables and organising the same on such occasions. Such a concept is already working successfully in places like the USA and the UK.

Conscious of not wanting to break the law in Malta she contacted the Lotteries and Gaming Authority and subsequently a meeting took place with them in May 2008. It was attended by Dr Joseph Borg, the Director Legal and Enforcement, his secretary, Svetlana and Brian, her partner.

Dr Borg gave Svetlana a copy of the Gaming Acts and it was agreed that she would return with a report and make a presentation once she had had an opportunity to study current Maltese legislation.

She duly did and returned to see Dr Borg in November 2008 and, in front of the same attendees, delivered her report and made her presentation. She put forward three propositions the first of which was for amusement only as there was no gambling money involved. He replied by saying that he would need two months to look into the detail of all three proposals and would meet with her again in due course.

A third meeting was called in February 2009. At this Dr Borg, on behalf of the Lotteries and Gaming Authority, said that provided that there wasn’t the word ‘casino’ in the title, due to the premise definition, her first proposal was acceptable. This was because her scheme qualified under the acts’ definition of no prizes or cash were being given out and as such no licence was required under the act due to this fact.

As a result, and at the suggestion of Dr Borg, Svetlana named her company ‘Viva Vegas’, ordered her roulette tables, took an office lease in Sliema and designed the marketing material. She was happy despite having taken the best part of a year to research and get her project officially approved, unlike hundreds of unregulated gaming establishments in Malta.

The establishment surely applauded her honesty and professionalism as she had bothered to do things properly and meticulously. Did it?

In late May 2009, the police arrived without warning at her premises, confiscated her equipment and arrested her on the grounds of contravening Article 7 of the act which states that “no person shall import, manufacture, maintain or supply any relevant gaming device unless such person is in possession of a valid licence to this effect issued by the Authority or unless such person is exempted from such licensing requirement in respect of such relevant gaming device in terms of regulations made under this act.” This is the very same act that Dr Joseph Borg had previously told Svetlana that her business project had no need to comply with.

What? Surely there must be a mistake. She had been told by a senior government official that her activity did not need a licence; there was no gambling of real money involved − therefore it is surely unlikely that even the dimmest of housewives could get hooked on winning ‘monopoly money’; she hadn’t even started trading or distributing her material; and what sort of a threat did she present to the public good compared to the hundreds of unregulated and often illegal sites that cause all the misery that the government was apparently worried about?

I mean how many people have you heard of going bankrupt due to ‘monopoly money’ debt? How many have stolen in order to pay off ‘monopoly money’ debt? And do you know of anyone being beaten up due to owing ‘monopoly money’?

Nevertheless, when these facts were understood, common sense must surely prevail. Oh no this is the Malta Police and it didn’t. Indeed, after Inspector Raymond Aquilina had subjected Svetlana to a five-hour interrogation, during which he told her that there was a strong possibility that she could be a prostitute because she was Russian, he still seemed to have failed to grasp the lunacy and stupidity of the case he had before him.

Svetlana was understandably traumatised. She had attempted to do everything right but now she might be charged with a criminal offence and had bought equipment and marketing material, set up a website and signed a lease and yet was unable to operate.

Surely, her friends insisted, that common sense, despite the Raymond Aquilina’s apparent lack of it, would prevail in the end. No it didn’t, as he next phoned her lawyer to say that, acting on advice from the Attorney General’s Office, the police were going to proceed with charges.

Obviously, Svetlana’s initial reaction was to phone the very man, who as Director Legal and Enforcement of the Lotteries and Gaming Authority had told her to proceed. However, suddenly, Dr Joseph Borg was no longer taking her calls. An aide advised her that he had been told by police not to talk to her.

A good friend of hers with some influence got her an appointment with Dr Tonio Borg, the Deputy Prime Minister. He listened carefully and qualified his comments by saying that he hadn’t practised law for some time. Nevertheless, it was his opinion that if Article 7 was applied to the rest of us in the same fashion it would mean that any tourist, permanent resident or Maltese national entering the country with a chess board or a pack of playing cards would be in breach of the law in the same way.

So, despite having sought and got the approval of a senior government official and having not even begun to trade, Svetlana was forced to take legal advice from Dr Robert Abela, son of Malta’s admired President, in order to protect herself. His interpretation of the current Lotteries and Other Games Act leads him to believe that his client hasn’t a case to answer.

I’m sure those of us with even a little common sense and any sense of justice will agree with both him and the Deputy Prime Minister. But there was no getting away from the reality. An innocent and law abiding woman was being persecuted by the police and one was forced to wonder why?

Then this farce became pure comedy on Friday 17 July 2009 when one of Inspector Aquilina’s assistants phoned Svetlana at 6pm and asked her to come to the police station urgently as they had lost their copy of her passport. She replied that she couldn’t but that they were very welcome to come to her and she would make them a second copy. The police told her that they were unable to do this, as they didn’t have any transport!

All drug addicts needing to commit crime please note – Friday evening seems a good time as apparently Raymond and his boys can only try and catch you by bus!

However, it occurred to me to demand − why hadn’t Dr Joseph Borg stepped forward and admitted to telling Svetlana that he had approved of her ‘amusement only’ option and that she might operate as a result?

Why was Inspector Aquilina wasting the taxpayers’ money prosecuting a woman playing party games with ‘monopoly money’ while turning a blind eye to unregulated and illegal gambling establishments all over the island?

Why was a competitor of Svetlana’s being allowed freely to do exactly the same thing she wanted to operate – except that they actually offer cash prizes? Surely, I had got this bit wrong? So I went to www.maltayes.com/events/casino and there it was.

Why had Tonio Fenech allowed the gambling problem to explode while attempting to bankrupt an innocent woman in a last ditch attempt to show he has finally got round to doing something?

Eventually, the ‘wicked’ Svetlana was brought to trial on 25 February 2010 at great expense to you and me. The result? She was acquitted! Hooray! End of story? Don’t be silly, this is the Maltese police we are talking about.

Their arrogance and stupidity blinded them yet again to the public good that they are supposed to serve so – yes that’s right you guessed it – they appealed and decided to waste more money from the public purse in their quest to intimidate and bully an innocent girl of Russian descent.

Remember we are talking about the same fantastic police force who were apparently shocked to discover what happens in lap dancing bars a couple of months ago, despite demanding free drinks in them for years. Oh, and the same police force who like to strip-search evil arrestees for such atrocious crimes as using a public laptop for private use.

This ridiculous tale of police arrogance, sexism, racism and stupidity eventually came to an end on 18 February when the eminently sensible Mr Justice Michael Mallia dismissed the appeal, did ‘not find (the) accused guilty as charged and order(ed) her immediate release’. He also ordered the return of her goods. Bravo sir.

So at last justice has been done and seen to be done. Or has it? Svetlana has lost two years of her life. She has been deprived of her right to earn her living by legally doing what she is good at. She lost her lease and sunk costs and her goods were returned damaged. She was unfairly charged in the first place and suspected of being a prostitute, on the grounds of her Russian origin, in the process. She has spent a fortune on legal fees but will not see those paid by the government even though she won the case. Seems pretty rough justice to me. What do you think?

Meanwhile, neither the Police, the Attorney General nor the LGA took any action regarding Svetlana’s competitors who continued to operate − despite the fact that some even offered cash prizes.

Police have been aware of the company ‘Malta Yes’ since May 2009 and a letter regarding this company was sent to them by Svetlana’s lawyer on 24 August 2009. There was also a further official letter sent to the Police on 20 July 2010 regarding companies such as ‘Malta Poker Supplies’ and ‘Home Trends’ and yet all these companies were allowed to continue to operate, sell and supply similar items without investigation − let alone criminal proceedings. Seems pretty rough justice to me. What do you think?

Then there is Dr Joseph Borg, the man who may be suffering from Alzheimer’s, as he seemed to forget at one point or another Svetlana’s case, that they had met on three occasions or what he had advised her. The truth was eventually dragged out of him in court – like ‘pulling teeth’ as one witness commented. Apparently, he has been promoted. Fantastic! Seems pretty rough justice to me. What do you think?

And we must not forget the memorable ‘Keystone Kop’ Inspector Raymond ‘Clouseau’ Aquilina. As an author, I would not try and invent him for a novel on the grounds that people just would not believe in such an over-the-top character. Where to start – arrogance, sexism, racism and utter stupidity. An intoxicating combination for a fiction. But he is not fiction. He is fact and now promoted fact at that. Seems pretty rough justice to me. What do you think?

All in all a shameful episode – more to be expected in Libya than here. Or is it? One has to ask why the police, the Attorney General and the LGA all thought that it was all right for Maltese men to operate a business that a British woman of Russian decent should be prosecuted for twice. Shouldn’t we be able, in a democracy, to ask them to give account of themselves? Isn’t that what the people in Libya are fighting for?

Of course, you may not think that Svetlana’s case has much to do with you – after all she isn’t Maltese and you don’t want to operate roulette tables yourself. But think again for three important reasons. Firstly, she is an EU citizen and Malta is in the EU. Secondly, Malta is your country – don’t you want to be proud of it? Thirdly, the next time a lone character is being bullied by Aquilina & Co it could be you.

No doubt this article will see me rewarded with a hail of parking tickets, other harassments and a call from Police HQ in Floriana saying, ‘we know where you live’! However, this island needs a ‘Corruption and Stupidity Watch’ and the sooner it gets it the better for the man in the street.