Every now and then, on Friday evenings, I meet a couple of friends in a quiet village pub. We are spoilt with an assortment of home-made, tasty bites to complement a couple of shots of fine ‘brown soup’. Although recently I came across an Occupational Medicine & Health Affairs journal which amplified the health benefits of whisky, we still drink responsibly.
During our evening sessions, current issues inevitably crop up. One of the subjects we touched on last Friday was pickpocketing. Stealing is a crime, whether in small portions or large quantities, for whatever reason, it is a law-breaking act and consequently punishable. There’s no two ways about it. The perpetrators of this, or any other criminal activity for that matter, have to shoulder the consequences of their actions.
During the years I have worked at the union I had to face a few circumstances wherein blue, but also white collar, workers were charged with the misappropriation of funds or goods from their employer. The cases were invariably referred to a disciplinary board hearing. When the initial evidence produced by the company was more than clear, before the disciplinary board drew any conclusion, I sought to bargain a voluntary resignation from the worker against a short, but clean, reference letter from the company. A damaging reference letter would obstruct any future employment prospects for a worker dismissed on disciplinary grounds. Hopefully, the lesson would have been learnt.
Turning back to pickpocketing, numerous reports have been brought to light. Eastern Europeans are believed to be among the main perpetrators of the current surge in pickpocketing in Malta. A total of 2,030 pickpocketing crimes were reported in 2015. Law enforcement officials in Malta believe that a good number of these are the result of Romanian and Bulgarian gangs. In an attempt to foil pickpocketing and similar crimes, the police have launched a prevention campaign, with a new video clip to inform the public about pickpocketing while more police officers are assigned patrol duties on foot, particularly in tourist areas.
I do not condone stealing of any sort, but sending a 34-year-old pregnant Bulgarian woman with three children to 16 months to jail for stealing a wallet is quite a hard kick in the head. The prosecuting police officer made a very strong case against the court handing a lenient sentence. The prosecuting officer insisted that a harsh court sentence should send a strong message to others planning to come to Malta with the sole purpose to raid easy prey. On the other hand, the lawyer representing the Bulgarian lady pleaded that his client lives in miserable poverty. After due consideration and deliberation, the magistrate upheld the prosecuting officer’s plea.
From the comfort of my revolving stool at the pub, I come to the conclusion that the 16 months jail time for stealing a wallet handed to the Bulgarian lady sounded more like Jersey justice to me. Why a pregnant mother of three should shoulder the burden of others who, like her, have committed pickpocketing on our shores but have managed to get away with a reprimand is beyond me. Why she was singled out and used as deterrent to others of her ilk is misplaced judgement from my perspective. The magistrate and the prosecuting officer saw fit to give the miserable lady a good lesson! Some lesson!
I will, with heavy heart, put the anguish of this lady aside for a moment.
However, I will benchmark the court sentence handed to the Bulgarian lady against other criminal cases. By this criterion, if the alleged cases of corruption which this administration is infested with are proven in court, nothing less than a lifetime jail sentence would be appropriate to those found guilty. Perhaps the judge or magistrate should look into the possibility to decree that the key to the cell be thrown in the open seas to serve as a deterrent to others.
Allegations of corrupt politicians have been rife for many years. For the sake of good sense and out of respect, and because some have since passed away, I will not refer to past notorious cases of alleged corruption. This legislature has been marred with far more serious allegations of corruption than any other previous administration. But as yet, the prosecuting police officers are too busy, making a strong case against the weak and vulnerable. It seems that the public statements which the Leader of Alleanza Bidla, Mr Ivan Grech Mintoff, is making about the Libyan medical visa scandal are of no concern to those entrusted with the instruments to protect society.
Indeed, justice is blind, impartial and objective!
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