By Omar Bah
A 32-year-old Gambian, residing in Qormi, Malta yesterday appeared in court before magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, charged with three counts of rape, with three different victims at three different massage parlours in Sliema and Birkirkara.
Police sources say that the accused had tied up one of his victims before raping her at the massage parlour where she worked.
Police patrols had been instructed to be on the lookout for the suspect, whose appearance they had arrived at through informants and CCTV footage, which all showed the same individual in the area where the alleged rapes took place. He was finally spotted by a patrol in Qormi Road, Hamrun and taken into custody.
The accused told the court that he was 20 years old, but the prosecution pointed out that his date of birth, according to his documentation showed he is more than 30 years of age.
Through an interpreter, the defendant said this was not the correct date and that the date was “a mistake”, but that he was unable to change his passport.
The accused was unable to state his date of birth when asked by the court. Neither could he recall his birth month.
“Look here. You can’t tell me that you don’t know the month when you were born,” said the magistrate. “Didn’t your family ever tell you?”
“My family is in Gambia” replied the witness, before suggesting the court call his family on his phone and ask them.
The magistrate ordered the prosecution to unseal his mobile phone, which had been seized as evidence, and have the man call his family immediately, but he demurred, saying he did not remember the device password.
An interpreter explained that the defendant was refusing to unlock his mobile phone in the presence of the police, citing privacy concerns. The man relented and told the police his access code, after the court explained to him that it would appoint an expert to “brute force” the password.
It was noted that according to his Facebook account he was 16 years old, and had listed his date of birth as 2008. The court ordered that the man’s age be taken as that stated on his passport for now.
The examination in chief finally proceeded, with the man telling the court that he “works in the road construction industry.”
After ascertaining that the defendant understood what he was being accused of, the court asked what he was pleading to the charges.
“He said he did not do it and there is one where he paid money but that he did not do it,” replied the Gambian-language interpreter, unintelligibly.
“Is he pleading guilty or not guilty?” roared the magistrate, her patience having reached its end.
A plea of not guilty was entered by the defence lawyer. Bail was not requested.
“I want to go back to my country,” the accused then told the court. The court, its composure now restored, asked the interpreters to “explain to the gentleman that before he can return to Gambia, he has to face these proceedings in Malta.”
The magistrate explained that evidence would first have to be heard. “It is a process that takes time, yes. It is a case that will be decided at a trial by jury.”
The suspect told the court that he had paid money, “but only for a massage.” The prosecution at that juncture, assured the court that there was overwhelming evidence to show, as the court later put it, that “he wanted and got much more than a massage.”
He asked the court to help him “so that the prosecution or whatever can forgive him,” the interpreter explained. His lawyer asked the court to record that statement.
The interpreter was called to the stand and asked to repeat what he had just said for the record. “He said he was not guilty. Then he said that he wanted to ask the court to help him so that they can forgive him.”
“For what?” asked the magistrate. “The accusations levied against him,” came back the reply. “His pictures are there,” said the interpreter, referring to CCTV footage of the assaults.
Outside the courtroom after the sitting, the man was heard asking the police officers escorting him to send him to Gambia and asked to phone his wife.
The police will be deciding whether to press further charges in connection with an attempt to escape.
Prosecutors Angele Vella and Nicholas De Gaetano from the Office of the Attorney General, assisted police inspectors Clayton Camilleri, Brian Xuereb and Wayne Buhagiar.
Culled from Newsbook
