Michael Stivala, CEO of Stivala Group, who was accused of using an expired blue badge belonging to his deceased father back in 2025 has been acquitted after a court found that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The Malta Development Association’s president was cleared of all charges in a judgement delivered on Wednesday by Magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace.
Stivala had been charged with using a blue badge that was no longer valid, or failing to return the badge after its holder’s death. He also faced a separate charge of failing to attend the police station after being instructed to do so, either verbally or in writing, to provide information or documents required for an investigation.
The case concerned a blue badge issued to Carmelo Stivala, who died on 13 January 2020. According to the enforcement manager at the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability, the badge expired on 27 June 2023, but had not been returned to the relevant authorities.
The manager told the court that the commission had sent letters to the deceased man’s relatives requesting the return of the badge, including one in July 2020 and another on 16 September 2025.
He explained that the commission had been informed after a LESA officer issued a ticket relating to the expired badge. A check of the commission’s database showed that the badge belonged to Carmelo Stivala and was no longer valid.
However, the court identified several shortcomings in the prosecution’s evidence.
In its judgement, it noted that the LESA officer referred to in the police affidavit had not been brought forward to testify. This meant the court was unable to assess the officer’s testimony directly.
The court also pointed out that the police affidavit repeatedly referred to a person named “Jason” without providing a surname, raising doubts about the identity of the individual being referred to.
Furthermore, the Blue Badge certificate itself had not been presented in court, despite being relevant evidence in the case.
In view of these deficiencies, the magistrate concluded that the standard of proof required in criminal proceedings, proof beyond reasonable doubt, had not been met.
The court consequently found Stivala not guilty of all the charges and acquitted him.