Six Noise Complaints Against Sliema Bars Thrown Out After Prosecution Errors
At least six noise-complaint cases against two popular Sliema bars have been thrown out of court, all because prosecutors kept making the same procedural mistakes over and over again.
The cases were filed in 2023 and 2024 by nearby residents who had complained about loud music coming from MedAsia Playa (now rebranded as Toyroom Beach Club in Qui-Si-Sana) and Gourmet Cocktail Bar & Grill on The Strand as reported by Times Of Malta.
Despite multiple complaints and court hearings, Magistrate Kevan Azzopardi had no choice but to acquit all the accused, because the prosecution’s evidence was ruled inadmissible.
In all seven judgments, the police and the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) had submitted affidavits that didn’t state where the oath was taken, and in some cases, failed to present the original copies.
That’s a big no-no under Article 7 of the Commissioner for Oaths Ordinance, which requires affidavits to specify both the place and date the oath was made. Because of this, the magistrate declared all those affidavits “null and void.”
The result? Every single case collapsed.
Five of the thrown-out cases involved noise complaints filed by resident Ivanna Boleslavovna Priyavko against MedAsia Playa, while three other cases were tied to Gourmet Cocktail Bar & Grill, based on a complaint by Anna Maria Baldacchino.
Even in one case where the disturbance was described by the court as “serious”, the prosecution still failed to prove who actually held the licence for the bar, meaning the case couldn’t proceed. The only case without an invalid affidavit was still dismissed, this time because no witness or MTA confirmation was ever presented.
Meanwhile, the canopy belonging to Gourmet Cocktail Bar & Grill, which had been illegally occupying part of The Strand for around a decade, was only sanctioned last year after an application by developer Michael Stivala, who also faced charges in one of the cases.
Photo credits to MedAsia on Facebook
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