Magistrate Audrey Demicoli acquitted a Qormi notary and a Siggiewi man of falsifying a will because the testator’s signature was not normal possibly because of a medical condition which affected his hand.

Notary Anthony Agius, 62, was arraigned with Generoso Sammut, 59 of Siggiewi, and charged with falsifying a public deed. The will was drawn up by Notary Agius, and Sammut was waiting with his grandson, Charlo Attard, at the notary’s, when the two were called to witness the will.

Proceedings against them were initiated in 2002 after a report was lodged with the police by Emanuel Scerri, who referred to a will drawn up before the notary on 23 August, 2001.

Scerri became suspicious because his uncle, Nicholas Anthony Borg, had made his will in favour of a person who was not of the family, and also because his uncle’s signature was dissimilar from what it normally was.

He employed two handwriting experts, Dr Anthony Abela Medici and Joseph Gaffiero to analyse the signature before filing the report with the police. But evidence presented to Magistrate Demicoli showed that Borg was often a patient in hospital because he was a cancer patient and a doctors’ medical report showed that he had a condition which affected his right hand.

Two court-appointed handwriting experts, Juliana Scerri Ferrante and Martin Bajada, decided after analysing the signature that this was not Borg’s but said it was also possible that it was his if in the period that he signed the will he was suffering from a medical condition which could have affected his right hand.

Magistrate Demicoli concluded she was not in a position to decide on whether it was Borg’s signature or someone else’s and acquitted the two accused because in case of doubt this should go in favour of the accused.

Inspector Edel Mary Camilleri prosecuted. Dr Kathleen Grima represented the accused.