Acquittal granted where conflicting accounts and absence of third-party witnesses prevented the court from establishing guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Court of Magistrates (Malta) as a Court of Criminal Judicature · Magistrate Dr. Nadia H. Vella B.A., LL.D., Dip. Trib. Eccl. Melit. · 4 May 2026
On the evening of 15 May 2024, at around 8:35 p.m. in Triq Fuq il-Fortini, Birgu, a confrontation took place outside a residential apartment between Luke Piscopo and Francis Degiorgio. Piscopo is the current partner of Kimberly Xuereb, the ex-wife of Degiorgio, and lives with her and their children at that address. The incident occurred when Degiorgio had just dropped off the children, and Piscopo came downstairs to open the door. The two men gave diametrically opposing accounts of what happened. Piscopo testified that Degiorgio called out to him, and when he approached, Degiorgio grabbed him by the neck, swung a punch, and struck him near the eye — injuries he said were documented at a polyclinic the same night. Degiorgio, on the other hand, claimed that it was Piscopo who pushed him three times by the neck and then punched him, causing him to fall to the ground, after which Piscopo mounted him and threatened further violence. Kimberly Xuereb, the key witness, was in the bathroom at the time of the incident. She heard shouting and noise but saw nothing and could not corroborate either account. The court noted that her testimony, while present in the file, could not shed light on which version of events was closer to the truth. The charge was breach of the public peace under Article 338(dd) of the Criminal Code. The court referred to settled case law — including the Court of Criminal Appeal decision in Police vs. Claudio Overend — which establishes that a breach of the public peace requires voluntary conduct that causes at least a minimum level of apprehension in a third party (other than the accused) about the safety of persons or property. An exchange of words, even threatening, does not automatically meet this threshold. The court found that no evidence was produced showing that any third parties were present during the argument and were caused to fear for their safety. Combined with the irreconcilable conflict between the two accounts, the court concluded that the necessary moral certainty to establish guilt was absent. Applying the principle that doubt must favour the accused, Luke Piscopo was acquitted of all charges.
Luke Piscopo found not guilty of the charge of voluntarily disturbing public order or the public peace contrary to Article 338(dd) of the Criminal Code, Chapter 9 of the Laws of Malta. Acquitted and discharged from all punishment. No security order under Article 383 was applied.
Criminal Code Ch. 9 — Article 338(dd) breach of public peace; Article 383 (security order, not applied)