Court Acquits Bangladeshi Man in Alleged ID Card Forgery Case Due to Lack of Evidence
A court has acquitted a Bangladeshi national who was charged with forging a landlord’s signature on an Identita’ document after the police didn’t present any evidence that it was in fact forged.
Yousuf Prodan, 37, was charged in court after an Identita’ clerk found that a landlord’s signature on one of his documents didn’t match the signature on his rental agreement.
The clerk testified that on 18th July, Prodan’s residence permit application was missing the ‘Still Abroad Part 2’ document, which requires a landlord’s signature.
She instructed him to obtain his landlord’s signature, and he returned a few hours later with the form filled out. However, the clerk realised that the signature didn’t match the landlord’s signature on his rental agreement.
She asked Prodan whether he was sure the landlord had signed it and warned him he could get in trouble with the law if it turned out the signature was forged, but the Bangladeshi national stressed that it was legitimate.
After confirming with his landlord that neither he nor his wife signed it, the clerk flagged it with Identita’s reporting unit, who took it up with the police.
The landlord testified that while he has signed similar documents for tenants, he didn’t sign one on that day. He confirmed that he rents out the apartment to some six tenants but doesn’t know them all by name or sight, and is only in contact with one of them in cases of issues with the property.
Magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace acquitted the man, warning the prosecution based its case on assertions of forged signatures without providing any evidence that they were in fact forged.
“The court believes that the accused didn’t intend to commit a crime when, through third parties, he carried out arrangements and signed documents to process his application. It is clear that third parties were involved, and it is also clear that he doesn’t understand English or Maltese, so much so that two translators had to be appointed in every sitting.”
Lawyer Jason Azzopardi, who exposed the ID card racket, placed the blame on the shoulders of police commissioner Angelo Gafa.
“The court was forced to acquit a foreigner caught in the ID card racket because Angelo Gafa refused to at least find the Maltese middleman and his accomplices in Identita’ and the Housing Authority. Shame on you,” he said.
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