A man who thought his car had been stolen received a €1,200 fine four months later, only to find out that it in fact had been towed. 

Alex Borg* filed a case against the Police Commissioner, LESA and the St Julians Local Council arguing that he had been denied the right to his property due to the fact that authorities failed to investigate the disappearance of his car and did not make him aware of the fact that it had been towed. 

The incident happened in October 2018 when Borg found that his car, a Toyota Vitz, had disappeared whilst it was parked in between white lines, he claimed. 

The man became suspicious that his car had been towed when he received a fine in January 2019 for the same day it disappeared. Despite this, police had no information on the towing. 

Moreover, Borg received a letter from the council, along with the €1,200 fine, in February with a notice addressed to him to go and collect his car.

Speaking in court, police said they were not informed about the towing while LESA said that it wasn’t their responsibility because it was not them who ordered the car to be towed.

In addition, the local council submitted photos that Borg’s car was towed because it had been parked under a No Parking sign.

The court upheld the fine, noting that the case had been time-barred because it had not been filed within the six-month stipulated time frame and that the No Parking sign indicated that it coil be towed. 

Borg’s claim was thrown out and he was directed to pay court expenses.

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