Interesting interpretation of the law!!!!

"Goran Stoyanovich, 33, was last week charged with possession of cannabis, an illegal substance, after admitting to the police under interrogation that he had smoked cannabis in the past."

What if he had smoked it in Holland, no offence committed ?

Offence committed in Holland, so of no interest to Maltese courts

Exactly and where is the burden of proof which applies to the prosecutor.
Absolutely crazy.

redmik wrote:

Exactly and where is the burden of proof which applies to the prosecutor.

self incrimination - he admitted to breaking the law (whether its a good law is another matter)

I wonder what other countries have in law the ability to prosecute based upon self incrimination without supporting evidence?
Also and I would be very interested to know, are suspects cautioned before interview by police and if so what is the wording of that caution?
Also, do suspects have a right to a 'solicitor' presence during interview?

If you murdered someone, disposed of the body, and then told the police what you did, could they prosecute you for murder based solely on your statement ?

georgeingozo wrote:

If you murdered someone, disposed of the body, and then told the police what you did, could they prosecute you for murder based solely on your statement ?

No, they would have to provide corroborating evidence. The person confessing would have to show intent, method, disposal etc and prosecutors would have to support those statements with other evidence otherwise many people would be prosecuted for false confessions, including the insane and otherwise intellectually challenged.

This particular case is one of possession and that means that the person must be found in possession; except in Malta of course.

so the lesson is, if you are going to murder someone, make sure you dispose of the body properly

georgeingozo wrote:

so the lesson is, if you are going to murder someone, make sure you dispose of the body properly

Not necessarily as prosecutions for murder have been successful where the body has not been located. However, the burden of proof by other means is very heavy and relies now mainly upon DNA evidence. Also, there have been some misconvictions, one famous one was in Australia where a baby was deemed to have been murdered by her mother. She went to prison until released after clothing was found in a dingo lair.

there was an article in the ToM recently - it basically said that if arrested and then asked if you want to speak to a lawyer - always say NO - the reason explained was that once you say YES you lose your right to stay silent..... A very strange set of laws rules whatever.......

toonarmy9752 wrote:

there was an article in the ToM recently - it basically said that if arrested and then asked if you want to speak to a lawyer - always say NO - the reason explained was that once you say YES you lose your right to stay silent..... A very strange set of laws rules whatever.......

I remember that article as well - I think it was once you say yes, AND speak to a lawyer over the phone, even if they just say "go away, I'm busy", that counts as having had advice !

The reasons I am so interested is that I used to work in some Criminal Youth Courts in England and at police stations supporting and advising young people upon arrest, during interviews and afterwards. I was also responsible for the preparation of pre-sentencing reports etc.

georgeingozo wrote:

toonarmy9752 wrote:

there was an article in the ToM recently - it basically said that if arrested and then asked if you want to speak to a lawyer - always say NO - the reason explained was that once you say YES you lose your right to stay silent..... A very strange set of laws rules whatever.......

I remember that article as well - I think it was once you say yes, AND speak to a lawyer over the phone, even if they just say "go away, I'm busy", that counts as having had advice !

yep thats the one

It's crazy. Reminds me of two colleagues involved in accidents with buses in the 70's. One was done for driving too close to the bus behind him and another, who was carved up when a bus crossed in front of him to go up a slip road, was told he should have known that number bus took that particular route!

there but for the grace of god so to speak......

The interesting thing is, that this strict effort from the maltese police and from the judges does not really help people not using drugs.

From my part is fine if people use canabis or whatever as long as they dont threaten other peoples safety etc.

michael78 wrote:

The interesting thing is, that this strict effort from the maltese police and from the judges does not really help people not using drugs.

From my part is fine if people use canabis or whatever as long as they dont threaten other peoples safety etc.

Totally agree and in my experience those who use cannabis just want to be left alone, with their own company and wouldn't hurt anyone.

and one or two flying dragons maybe...

The next step is to prosecute a man for rape just because he has a [Moderated]. Nice.