A Magistrate has criticised the authorities for overworking the police and Identity Malta staff, saying lax controls on working hours resulting in a trivial matter on queue procedures being blown out of proportion.

Magistrate Joe Mifsud found a Venezuelan woman involved in the incident not guilty of filing a false police report, letting her off with a reprimand for breaching the peace. 

In June this year, the woman, Yinette Consuelo Guaquirian Pedrique, 49,  had gone to the police and alleged that she was injured by a policeman.

She was at the Identity Malta office at the Evans Building and claimed that the the police officer took out a taser gun, and pushed her to the floor, leading to a broken arm. 

Inspector Justin Camilleri told the Court that CCTV footage shows that the policeman never pushed her, but rather when she tripped, he tried to grab her to stop her from falling.

In his testimony, the officer in question, Anthony Theuma, said he used minimal force when dealing with the Venezuelan   woman who was queue jumping at Identity Malta. 

The magistrate said Identity Malta should invest in the publication of a multilingual information leaflet informing visitors to the Evans Building about queuing procedures and waiting times. 

Magistrate Mifsud said he was unhappy with the way the incident was dealt with by an Identity Malta security official and the policeman who was called to assist him, describing as “unacceptable”the fact that the security guard was wearing Bermuda shorts and nothing to identify him as a member of staff.

This, the Magistrate said, could lead one to mistake the guard for another member of the public waiting to be served.

The court ruled that the prosecution had failed to present sufficient evidence as to what happened on the day of the incident and had formed a half-hearted case against the woman. 

Police inspectors Justin Camilleri and Pricilla Caruana prosecuted while lawyers Andrew Sciberras and Lara Dimitrijevic appeared for the woman.