Partial victory for Simon Busuttil as Panama Appeals saga continues

February 27, 2018, 1:33 am

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A judge presiding over the constitutional case linked to the Panama Appeals saga on Tuesday handed a partial victory to former Opposition leader Simon Busuttil by upholding arguments that several documents, deemed as ‘beyond essential’ are to be admitted as evidence. The issue constituted the crux of a decision delivered by Mr Justice Joseph Zammit McKeon in the constitutional case filed by Dr  Busuttil, claiming that Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi’s decision to continue to preside over the Panama appeals would render him a “victim” by violating his right to a fair hearing. Some of the respondents’ lawyers had objected to various documents produced in evidence in this constitutional suit, including a transcript in which Mr Justice Mizzi “had declared several times in open court that an argument for his recusal was ‘highly annoying’”. Other documents targeted for removal were two decrees delivered by inquiry magistrate Aaron Bugeja, as well as media coverage of speeches delivered by Mrs Mizzi in the European Parliament wherein she had expressed her views on the Panama Papers scandal. On Tuesday, however, Mr Justice Zammit McKeon threw out the arguments of the respondents declaring...

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New State entity would not say what it is doing

February 28, 2018, 12:45 am

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A government entity set up under the political remit of Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi would not give any details on projects it is working on, saying that “may be contrary to public interest”. Projects Plus Ltd also refused to give details on the remuneration package of its CEO, James Camenzuli. A request under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain information on Mr Camenzuli’s remuneration package was turned down by Projects Plus on grounds that this was commercially sensitive. The Times of Malta has asked the Data Protection Commissioner to look into the decision. Mr Camenzuli, an engineer by profession, used to work with a pharmaceuticals company until 2013. Soon after Labour was returned to power, Dr Mizzi appointed him chairman of the Malta Resources Authority and CEO of the Foundation for Medical Services. He has since resigned from both positions. After Dr Mizzi’s lost his health portfolio in a Cabinet reshuffle 2016 in the wake of the Panama Papers, he recruited Mr Camenzuli at Projects Plus soon after it was registered. The new entity, set up as a subsidiary of Projects Malta Ltd, which had handled the controversial contract signed with Vitals Global Healthcare,...

Teacher has five-year jail term for traffic accident reduced to suspended sentence

February 28, 2018, 1:10 am

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A five-year jail term for a teacher who involuntarily killed an elderly man in a traffic accident was converted to a suspended sentence and fine on appeal on Wednesday. Dorianne Camilleri, 36, had been convicted of causing the death of Alfred Zahra, 64 and seriously injuring his sister Carmela Zahra. Both had been crossing the Rabat road in Attard when the accident happened. Justice  Edwina Grima confirmed that Ms Camilleri involuntarily caused the  death of Mr Zahra by her driving, but acquitted her of injuring his sister.  The jail term was converted to six months imprisonment suspended for a year. A five-year suspension of the driving licence was reduced to one year. The teacher was ordered to pay court fees of €2,401.  In March last year parliament removed the minimum five-year prison sentence in accidental traffic accidents that involved more than one victim, a decision taken after the public outcry which the decision of the first court in this case had caused. The reaction to the sentence had seen more than 27,000 people signing a petition requesting a change in the law. Ms Camilleri's lawyer, Arthur Azzopardi, had welcomed the decision, sparing his client from serving time.

Brown powder seized from stables was less than 1 per cent heroin

February 27, 2018, 5:56 am

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A 1.2kg stash of brownish powder seized during an anti-drug police raid at stables in Marsa contained a minimal percentage of heroin far below the norm, a court-appointed expert told court on Tuesday.  While heroin purity generally ranged from 15 to 30 per cent, the stash seized following the September raid had a purity of just 0.2 to 0.5 per cent, Prof. Emmanuel Sinagra testified.  This revelation was made in the course of criminal proceedings against two men and a woman following a raid on the stables last September. The raid took place after a fire broke out at the stable.   Stable hand Nicholas Farrugia, 25, from Cospicua and his partner Shana Farrugia, 22, from Ħamrun, were jointly charged with aggravated possession of heroin and conspiracy to traffic. Mr Farrugia was also charged with animal cruelty. Jason Borg, a 39-year old horse cab driver from Birkirkara who owns the stables in question, was likewise prosecuted over the aggravated possession of heroin. Charges against the trio had spoken of some 1.2 kilograms of suspected heroin, which had been packaged in 12 sachets of around 100 grams each. With Prof. Sinagra testifying that the suspicious powder had a purity of...

Half days are here to stay, says Civil Service head

February 28, 2018, 2:43 am

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There are no plans to ditch summer half days for civil servants and there is no indication that half days are hindering the economy, Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar said on Wednesday. Mr Cutajar was speaking on the margins of an informal meeting with the trade unions at the Excelsior Hotel in Floriana. In his remarks, he announced that a pilot project will soon be launched in a major government entity which he declined to mention by name, to evaluate the effect of extending the hours of service to the public. “This could be a win-win situation as the public will be better served while employees could have more flexible working hours,” he said. Asked if the government was considering ditching half days in summer, Mr Cutajar said that contrary to public perception, this arrangement only applied to a minority of those on the government’s books. He pointed out that in the medical sector and disciplined forces, workers did not have half days. Nonetheless, he said that current economic growth did not suggest that half days were having a negative impact. Furthermore, no substantive argument was ever presented to the government on how the half days were hindering the...

Another spring hunting referendum could be on the cards, Birdlife hints

February 28, 2018, 2:54 am

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Birdlife have raised the prospect of seeking a second referendum on spring hunting because of government 'provocation'. The ornithological society lashed out at the government on Wednesday, one day after the Ornis Committee, which includes government representatives, proposed moving back the dates of the Spring hunting season for quail. As a result, it will coincide with peak migration of turtle dove and there is a risk that doves may be shot down 'accidentally'. A moratorium on the hunting of turtle dove was imposed when it was shown that their numbers have declined.  "This his effectively means that this year’s spring hunting season is one which has been designed to target the protected Turtle Dove," Birdlife said. Birdlife president Mark Sultana said that red lines had been crossed and his society was considering seeking a referendum to coincide with the elections for the European Parliament and local councils next year. TIMES TALK: 'It's normal for us hunters to feel like victims' The government, he said, was only minding the interests of the hunting lobby and was ignoring scientific evidence including that presented by its own environmental agency, the ERA. While declaring...

Grandmother fined €4,000 for assaulting head of school

February 28, 2018, 4:46 am

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Updated at 4.40pm with MUT reaction A grandmother who assaulted a head of school in Vittoriosa on Tuesday apologised in court on Wednesday and was fined €4,000.  The woman, 47, said she was pleading guilty and she admitting she had committed a mistake. She was also handed a suspended six-month jail term and banned from the school for two years.  A protection order in favour of the head of school was issued.   The head of school was treated in hospital for slight injuries after the incident which took place in her first floor office. The aggressor was arrested shortly after she left the school. The court banned publication of names.  Jason Grima was defence counsel. The Malta Union of Teachers welcomed the outcome of the court case, noting in particular that the issue was dealt with quickly. However, it stressed that the bigger issue must not be overlooked: that prevention is better than cure. "This sentence, which follows a similar one last November, should be commended. The MUT, however, reiterates for the umpteenth time its appeal for proper security measures in schools to protect educators at their workplace."

Funeral directors, care worker charged with leak of information about deceased

February 28, 2018, 7:34 am

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Two funeral directors and a care worker were granted bail after pleading not guilty to their alleged involvement in the leakage of confidential information regarding deceased hospital patients. Mario Lia, 57, and Angelo Vella, 62, both of Żabbar, were charged with having corrupted care worker Anthony Mercieca, 59, who in turn was charged with passing on sensitive personal data, accepting bribes and relapsing. The arraignments followed in the wake of a report to the Times of Malta by a man whose father had passed away at Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre. Two funeral directors had allegedly turned up outside the family home to offer their services even before the hospital authorities had officially communicated news of the death to the patient’s relatives. Read: Funeral director, hospital contractor employee arrested in investigation on leakage of dead people's details The deceased’s family pointed their fingers in the direction of hospital staff for allegedly divulging personal information, giving the undertakers the patient’s name, time of death as well as personal address and mobile number. Following police investigations into the matter, all three men were arraigned and duly...

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Nexia BT gets €130,000 in direct orders from Mizzi-led entity

February 28, 2018, 9:01 am

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An entity falling under Konrad Mizzi when he was energy minister allocated two direct orders worth €130,000 to Nexia BT, information tabled in Parliament has shown. Replying to a parliamentary question by Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi, Energy Minister Joe Mizzi furnished data showing his ministry had dished out 55 direct orders, worth just over €3 million, from March 2013 to date. Direct orders are only meant to be given in exceptional circumstances, because they bypass normal public procurement rules. Mr Mizzi moved to the Energy Ministry last June, and sources noted that the majority of the direct orders in question had been allocated when the ministry fell under Konrad Mizzi’s political responsibility. Nexia BT, the firm which set up a secret Panama company for Dr Mizzi that was not registered with the local tax authorities, received direct orders for consultancy services for State-billing company ARMS Limited. E-Cubed Consultants, which split from Nexia BT after the Panama Papers scandal, received a €50,000 direct order from the Energy and Water Services Ministry under Dr Mizzi. Its director, economist Gordon Cordina, also received a personal direct order worth...

'Lavrov this, Lavrov that': Trump-linked Maltese told girlfriend about Russia link

February 28, 2018, 5:45 am

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Updated 4pm A secretive Maltese academic alleged to have served as a middleman between Russian operatives and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign told the mother of his child that he was on friendly terms with Russia’s foreign minister, Buzzfeed has reported. Joseph Mifsud, who worked at the Education and Foreign Affairs ministries before relocating to London to teach diplomatic studies at a now-defunct school, was named in a US court document as the person who told a Trump aide that the Russians had “dirt” on Clinton in the form of thousands of leaked e-mails.  He has since vanished from public view, with a 31-year-old Ukrainian woman who says she is the mother of his child turning to Buzzfeed following months of silence from Mr Mifsud. 'Anna' says the two had met four years ago and were engaged to get married but that she has not seen him since getting pregnant last year, nor heard from him for the past several months.   OPINION: A normal-looking Maltese citizen In an interview which features several photos of Mr Mifsud as well as e-mails and purported WhatsApp conversations between the two, she told Buzzfeed how Mr Mifsud would tell her “I am important man” and talk of his...

Speeding driver spared jail time, 12 years after crash

February 28, 2018, 3:30 am

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A sports car enthusiast originally sentenced to prison time for a massive car crash in 2005 has been spared jail. Massimon Abela, 46 and from Mqabba, had matured significantly in the 12 years since the crash happened and the crash victim had also recovered well in the ensuing years, Madam Justice Edwina Grima noted as she converted a one-year jail sentence to a one-year term suspended for two years. Mr Abela had been driving his newly purchased Mitsubishi Lancer along the Coast Road towards Buġibba shortly after midnight in September 2005 when he lost control of the car, crashing into two vehicles heading in the opposite direction. Just as Mr Abela manouvred the Magħtab bend in the road, the Mitsubishi brushed the pavement and skidded out of control. It smashed into an Opel Corsa which disappeared from view, and then collided sideways into a Mercedes Benz which had braked suddenly. The Opel Corsa was completely wrecked on the rocky beach below, with its young driver suffering grievous injuries which shattered his dreams of becoming a dancer. Mr Abela was subsequently prosecuted over the accident which resulted in grievous injuries to the Opel driver, slight injuries to Mr...

€26,000 government report not worth the paper it was written on - Busuttil

February 28, 2018, 11:50 am

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A €26,000 report drawn up by a British firm to counter a 'rule of law' report from a European Parliament delegation was "not worth the paper it was written on", Opposition MP Simon Busuttil told parliament on Wednesday. The 44-page report was sent to the European Parliament in response to the report drawn up by the delegation which had been sent to Malta in 2017. The report was drawn up by British firm Bird & Bird. It was an embarrassment for such a report, which questioned the legality of the EP delegation itself, to have been sent to the EP on behalf of the Maltese State, he said. Read: Muscat's reaction to rule of law report 'disrespectful' - MEP The report attempted to defend the actions of the Attorney General, claiming that he had no direct power to investigate but could only issue an “investigation order,” upon the presentation of prima facie evidence and not solely upon reports in the media. As the chair of the FIAU, which had concluded its report with a “reasonable suspicion of money laundering” on the part of the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri, the AG had plenty of evidence to act upon, Dr Busuttil said. Dr Busuttil concluded by pointing out that the...

10-storey aparthotel planned for main Swieqi road sends shiver down residents

February 28, 2018, 10:45 am

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Plans have been submitted for a 10-storey aparthotel in a residential area of Swieqi, raising fears of developers looking to extend Paceville into once-quiet neighbourhoods nearby. The application by Talal Naser El Abdullah, published on Wednesday, seeks to build an 88-room aparthotel, underground parking and amenities including a mini-market and rooftop pool on a plot off Triq is-Swieqi. The site lies about 250 metres from the underpass to Paceville and St George’s Bay and is surrounded mostly by two- and three-storey terraced houses, as well as a few taller apartment blocks. It is zoned as a residential priority area, where only residential applications are to be considered. Swieqi mayor Noel Muscat told the Times of Malta the local council planned to object to the application, noting that the surrounding roads were inadequate for such an intensive project. “This is a residential area, not an extension of Paceville. There are many other areas for this type of development,” he said. Highlighting the constant eating-up of open space in the locality, Mr Muscat said the council was opposed to commercial developments in residential areas. “The architects know what the law says,”...

Hospital patient data system fails for seven hours

February 28, 2018, 10:12 pm

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Mater Dei Hospital’s clinical patient administration system, the health service’s IT backbone, was down for about seven hours on Wednesday, forcing staff to carry out most of their administrative work manually. Hospital CEO Ivan Falzon confirmed the system, used for patient admissions, bed management and outpatients, had failed at about 6am after the software had been updated during the night. As a result, staff had to resort to writing information, which would have to be inputted into the system once all the issues were resolved, Mr Falzon said. “This was not ideal, of course, but we have fall-back positions, and all staff are trained in the eventuality of such a failure.” Hospital sources complained the system failure disrupted the day-to-day operation due to restrictions on doing certain jobs, such as blood test orders. One source complained that files could not be transferred and thus, appointments could not be booked. Mr Falzon said the system was used throughout the hospital, with some departments relying on it more than others. This was the case for the accident and emergency department, where it is used when admitting patients. He stressed, however, that the failure in...

Muscat: 'We will show accountability by finding whoever ordered Caruana Galizia murder'

March 1, 2018, 3:12 am

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The government would show its accountability for Daphne Caruana Galizia's death by finding whoever ordered her assassination, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Thursday. The journalist was killed by a car bomb on October 16. Three Slovak officials announced their resignations on Wednesday after a Slovak journalist who was investigating government corruption was found murdered on Sunday. Asked by Times of Malta how he could justify the lack of accountability by the Maltese government, Dr Muscat said the government had been accountable by finding Caruana Galizia's alleged killers. “We will let the courts go about their business now.” When it was pointed out that the Slovak culture minister resigned as a moral stand because the murder happened under his watch, Dr Muscat countered that the government would shoulder responsibility by finding whoever ordered Ms Caruana Galizia’s assassination. Three 'unemployed' men stand accused of murdering the journalist. Watch: Three accused of Daphne Caruana Galizia murder as widower looks on

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Headmistress was dragged by her hair, punched and kicked

March 1, 2018, 2:16 am

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The headmistress who was assaulted in a Vittoriosa school on Tuesday was dragged to the floor by her hair and punched and kicked, the Malta Union of Teachers disclosed on Thursday. The aggressor, a grandmother, was fined €4,000 by a court and handed a six-month suspended jail term. The MUT said it was giving an account of what happened now that the case had been decided.  Read: Grandmother fined €4,000 for assaulting head of school It said that about 10am on Tuesday, headmistress Lorna Schembri was on the phone when she saw a woman waiting outside her office and directed an assistant head to see her. The woman entered her office, declared she was the grandmother of a pupil at the school, and insisted that no one could shout at the boy. Without giving any chance for Ms Schembri to understand or react, she grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to the floor, where she started punching and kicking her. A member of the school's administration and the handyman intervened to stop the assault and the woman was escorted out of the school. The police and an ambulance were called. The headmistress was taken to hospital for treatment to her injuries. She was discharged in the evening...

Change referendum law, hunters insist; government not interested in wildlife protection - BLM

March 1, 2018, 12:18 am

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Updated 11.30am with BirdLife reaction The government should not spend another €6 million of taxpayers' money on a spring hunting referendum, the hunters' federation said on Thursday. But in a reaction, BirdLife Malta said the Muscat administration is not interested in wildlife protection and it therefore has to take the issue of spring hunting to the next level. The hunters were reacting to a press conference by BirdLife on Wednesday in which officials raised the prospect of calling a second referendum, coinciding with the European Parliament and local council elections next year. Rather than holding a referendum on an issue the people voted about in 2015, the FKNK said the government should consider its own petition to the Maltese parliament for amendments to the referenda law. Hunters collected more than 104,000 signatures in 2014, calling on MPs to make it illegal for minority rights to be abolished through a referendum. The petition aimed at blocking any future referenda that threaten their pastime. READ: Plans to revive hunters' bid to block referenda on hunting   The FKNK defended the Ornis Committee's decision to move back the dates of the spring hunting season for Quail.

It's decided: there will be no development in Wied Għomor

March 1, 2018, 4:18 am

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Plans for a 133-home residence and other facilities in Wied Għomor, were ditched by the Planning Authority on Thursday. The developers had appealed a decision after the project had been unanimously rejected by the Planning Authority board in May 2016. The final decision on the valley which divides Swieqi from San Ġwann was taken by the Planning Review Tribunal . Swieqi mayor Noel Muscat described the decision as a victory for common sense and the environment.  The decision should send a clear message not just for the protection of Wied Għomor but also other valleys and areas of protection, he said.  Read: Last ditch effort to save Wied Għomor Wied Għomor, a scheduled area of ecological and scientific importance, has been subjected to an unprecedented barrage of development applications in recent years, stretching local councils to their limits in an attempt to preserve its rural character.  Environment Minister José Herrera had said he had personally proposed the threatened valley for protection under the Public Domain Act, which would have offered a further safeguard against commercialisation and overdevelopment. More to follow

Speeding driver spared jail time, 12 years after crash

February 28, 2018, 3:30 am

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A sports car enthusiast originally sentenced to prison time for a massive car crash in 2005 has been spared jail. Massimon Abela, 46 and from Mqabba, had matured significantly in the 12 years since the crash happened and the crash victim had also recovered well in the ensuing years, Madam Justice Edwina Grima noted as she converted a one-year jail sentence to a one-year term suspended for two years. Mr Abela had been driving his newly purchased Mitsubishi Lancer along the Coast Road towards Buġibba shortly after midnight in September 2005 when he lost control of the car, crashing into two vehicles heading in the opposite direction. Just as Mr Abela manouvred the Magħtab bend in the road, the Mitsubishi brushed the pavement and skidded out of control. It smashed into an Opel Corsa which disappeared from view, and then collided sideways into a Mercedes Benz which had braked suddenly. The Opel Corsa was completely wrecked on the rocky beach below, with its young driver suffering grievous injuries which shattered his dreams of becoming a dancer. Mr Abela was subsequently prosecuted over the accident which resulted in grievous injuries to the Opel driver, slight injuries to Mr...

Watch: Police commissioner leaves media watchdog with no appointment

March 1, 2018, 6:30 am

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A top official from media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders is still waiting for an answer to her request to meet with the police commissioner in connection with the Daphne Caruana Galizia case.  UK Bureau Director Rebecca Vincent said her request to meet with the police boss since last Monday has been met with a mere acknowledgement. "In the interest of transparency it would be great if he would be willing to talk to us about what's happening," she told Times of Malta.  She is hoping to receive more details about the investigations into the murder of Ms Caruana Galizia, who was killed in a car bomb last October. The police commissioner has been conspicuously absent, eliciting criticism from several quarters. Three men have since been charged with the murder but the mastermind is believed to be at large. Read: Muscat: 'We will show accountability by finding whoever ordered Caruana Galizia murder' Ms Vincent said that all those involved in the October 16 attack must be brought to justice - and any degree of impunity will leave the door open for repeat attacks. She is also in Malta to monitor the 34 ongoing libel cases against Ms Caruana Galizia, which the assassinated...