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Elderly man injured in hold up

March 14, 2015, 9:39 am
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An elderly man was slightly injured in his hands when he resisted a thief who held up a shop in Triq id-Duka ta’ Edinburgh, Hamrun, at 3.10pm. The police said a man brandishing a knife entered the shop and asked the victim, who was inside, for cash. The victim resisted the thief and was slightly injured. The thief made off with just a few coins but was caught by the police in Triq Atoċja, later in the afternoon. An inquiry is being held.
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Baby left alone in car in Marsa, police investigating

March 15, 2015, 3:18 am
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The police are investigating an incident of a baby left unattended in a car in Marsa. They said in a statement they were told about the baby in anonymous information on emergency line 112. Following up on the information,  they discovered the child in a Volkswagen Polo in Spencer Hill. The police said the baby's father, a 27-year-old foreigner who lives in Birkirkara, returned to the car after the police arrived.  
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CID pair blamed for ‘wrong man’ blunder

March 14, 2015, 11:52 pm
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Two members of the Criminal Investigation Department were to blame for a police blunder which led to the arraignment of an innocent man, an internal inquiry has established. The inquiry, published more than 18 months after it was concluded, reaches a different conclusion to a report drawn up by the Police Board – which had shifted the blame for the error on to district inspector Elton Taliana when he had actually charged the correct person – and recommends disciplinary measuresagainst the two individuals. The blunder took place in August 2013 when Daryl Luke Borg, 27 from Birkirkara, was accused of theft and sent to prison after bail was denied. The incident led to a political backlash, with the Opposition calling the Police Board conclusions “a travesty of justice”. According to the internal inquiry, the crucial mistake was made by two CID inspectors – Joseph Mercieca and Carlos Cordina – who arraigned Mr Borg despite the fact there was insufficient evidence to accuse him over a hold-up at a shop in Birkirkara. The report also concedes that the police blunder was a result of lack of consultations between the CID and the district police. More in The Sunday Times of Malta and the...
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Knife used in murder bought the same day

March 14, 2015, 11:21 pm
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A Libyan man suspected of killing his estranged wife Silvana Muscat bought the knife used in the attack just hours before the brutal stabbing. Nour Hamid, 35, is still on the run after police named him as the prime suspect in the murder of Ms Muscat, 36, who last Thursday was found dead in a pool of blood in her St Paul’s Bay apartment bedroom. Ms Muscat died after being stabbed twice in the back and three times in the chest. Sources said they believed Mr Hamid purchased the murder weapon from a shop in St Paul’s Bay not long before she was killed. An autopsy result concluded that the time of death was Wednesday evening. The knife was found by the police in the common area leading to the roof of the apartment block. More in The Sunday Times of Malta and the e-paper on timesofmalta.com Premium.
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Maltese bread has the ‘right amount of salt’

March 15, 2015, 2:22 am
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Nenu Debono, owner of Maypole bakery. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

There is “no extra salt” in Maltese bread and the small amount in each loaf is vital to its flavour, according to a veteran baker and owner of Malta’s largest ħobza Maltija bakery. Nenu Debono, who heads Maypole bakery in Tal-Ħandaq, dismissed claims that the Maltese bread has any extra salt. “Over the years bakers have been reducing the salt content; any less than it has now and it won’t be a ħobza Maltija,” he told The Sunday Times of Malta. Last week Parliamentary Secretary Chris Fearne said the government would be engaging in discussions with the industry to examine ways through which... This article is part of our premium content. Full story is available on Times of Malta Premium.
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‘Eyesore’ billboard moved in 24 hours

March 16, 2015, 4:41 am
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A massive illegal electronic billboard that made an appearance at one of Malta’s busiest junctions in Msida last Friday was removed within 24 hours after the planning authority’s prompt intervention. The billboard was erected on high metal scaffolding and connected to the government’s electricity supply which is used for street lighting. A number of concrete bollards were used to weigh down the structure and make it secure. Passers-by drew Mepa’s attention to the billboard – described by drivers as an eyesore – asking whether it had the blessing of the planning authority. Mepa acted immediately on the complaints. Within 24 hours, the structure was dismantled as it was established that it was not covered by a permit and that RVC Ltd, whose workers erected the billboard, was breaching the law.
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€37 stolen in hold-up on elderly man in lotto office

March 15, 2015, 5:45 am
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A 45-year-old man from Zabbar has been remanded in custody after he pleaded not guilty to threatening, assaulting and seriously injuring an 81-year-old man during a hold-up on a lotto booth in Hamrun yesterday afternoon. Jesmond Gatt pleaded not guilty to holding 81-year-old Francesco Del Volto Santo Pizzuto against his will, stealing €37 from him and attacking him with a knife, which he was holding without a licence. He was also charged with being in possession of stolen goods. The police said yesterday the thief entered the booth brandishing a knife and asked Mr Pizzuto, a fourth time victim of theft, for money. Mr Pizzuto resisted the theif and was slightly injured in the process. The thief escaped but was caught by the police soon after. Magistrate Conseulo Herrera told Mr Gatt during the court sitting this afternoon that in her 18 years on the bench she had gotten fed up of seeing him in front of her. "Aren't you going to turn your life around," she asked him.Inspectors Carlos Cordina and Edel Mary Camilleri prosecuted. Legal aid lawyer Martin Fenech appeared for Mr Gatt.
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Fireworks aficionados' licence temporarily suspended

March 15, 2015, 4:36 am
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Two fireworks aficionados had their licences temporarily suspended but were granted bail by the Gozo Court this morning after they pleaded not guilty to a number of charges related to the illegal production, importation, retention and carrying of fireworks. The police said the two men, aged 34 and 37, were both from Victoria. They pleaded not guilty to all the charges against them. Inspector F Tabone and Inspector B Spiteri prosecuted. The police found around a kilo of “explosive powder” police in a garage-turned workshop owned by the La Stella Philharmonic Society on Friday night. The garage in a bustling part of the Gozitan capital on Giuseppe Giardini Street, just a few paces from popular toy shop, Kidzland. Paul Cassar, the president of the La Stella band club, insisted that no fireworks were being produced in the garage and that the two men were simply storing powder there. He said the two used the garage to prepare the outer casings for fireworks, which they would then fill in a licensed fireworks factory in Malta. In a statement this morning, the La Stella Philharmonic Society unconditionally condemned the incident and said it had already suspended the two men.
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Hunters return to Malta from mission in Ethiopia

March 15, 2015, 9:43 am
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Seven hunters and trappers returned to Malta from Ethiopia today, where they built a school for poor and needy children cared for by the charity Moviment Ġesu' fil-Proxxmu. Family and friends welcomed the group at Malta International Airport on their arrival. The hunters are all members of the hunters' federation, FKNK. Fr Ġorġ Grima, who heads the charity and organised the mission, sent the hunters a welcome letter which was read out to them at the airport. The hunters, who left Malta on February 20, specialise in different construction skills.  
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Mintoff’s saddle from Gaddafi for sale again

March 15, 2015, 3:20 am
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A slice of history showcasing Malta’s long link with Libya will go under the hammer next week as a ceremonial saddle given by Muammar Gaddafi to late prime minister Dom Mintoff goes up for sale. Presented to the avid horse-lover in the 1970s, the saddle came from his private residence in Tarxien and was sold in a separate auction a year ago. Complete with an ornate, engraved whip and a detailed embroidered bridle, the saddle sits in the main hall of Obelisk Auctions owned by auctioneer Pierre Grech Pillow. Beneath the saddle are thick sheepskin blankets, which acted as a barrier between the... This article is part of our premium content. Full story is available on Times of Malta Premium.
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Updated: Police investigating report of alleged abuse on anti-spring hunt campaigners

March 15, 2015, 4:15 am
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The police this morning confirmed they identified a man who yesterday verbally abused participants during an activity by the Spring Hunting Out (SHout) campaign in Birkirkara. Addressing a news conference in Buskett this morning, activist Mark Sultana said the campaign knew that this man was a hunter. He expressed disappointment that, rather than support from the opposite side following yesterday’s incident, there was speculation that the incident was a set up. During today's news conference, campaigners outlined crimes by hunters against birds and innocent bystanders at the Buskett protected woodland over many years. The most recent incident, they said, was on September 21 following a violent protest in Valletta after the Prime Minister closed hunting season. A mob of some 30 angry hunters, they said, attacked 13 people who were watching migrating birds as they came in to roost. Those attacked included a seven-year-old child. “Stones were thrown, a camera was broken and an elderly gentleman sustained a broken jaw,” spokesman Mark Sultana said. One of the people remembered that, on Independence Day 20 years earlier, he had also been attacked by hunters in the same place. He said...
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Trial hears how punch in the face led to Sudanese man's death

March 16, 2015, 3:09 am
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A 29-year-old Romanian man is standing trial for causing the death of a Sudanese man who died after suffering brain haemorrhage after being punched in the face in Paceville three years ago. Antonel Dobre, who lives in Swieqi, is pleading not guilty to seriously injuring 24-year-old Osama Al Shazliay Saleh  - known to his friends as Sunshine - on March 17, 2012. The prosecution is claiming that these serious injuries led to Mr Saleh's death three days later. Mr Dobre sat in the dock flanked by two interpreters - one translating from Maltese to English, and the other from English to Romanian. This morning the lawyers Kevin Valletta and Nadia Attard, from the Attorney General's office, read out the bill of indictment to jurors in the trial presided by Mr Justice  Antonio Mizzi. According to the bill, on March 17, 2012, at 6.30am police were informed that a man had been seriously injured following an argument at Clique Bar in Paceville. The victim was 24-year-old Sudanese Osama Al Shazliay Saleh. Police investigations revealed that the incident started when Mr Dobre's friend, Radu Rica, had an argument with Mr Saleh. The argument started when Mr Rica was going to the bathroom at the...
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Will your home be last stop for a historic bus?

March 15, 2015, 11:43 pm
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Some of the yellow buses salvaged by Heritage Malta four years ago are expected to find a new home soon, as the agency offers 45 of them to people interested in purchasing a piece of the island’s transport history. However, the agency is still trying to find a permanent location to display the rest of the 103 buses currently in its ‘collection’. It salvaged 140 buses after they were replaced by Arriva’s new aquamarine buses in 2011 and sold off some of them the following year. Heritage Malta issued a second call for expressions of interest from prospective buyers earlier this month. The buses are being temporarily stored in the old Malta Shipbuilding premises. Some have been vandalised and the perpetrators broke parts of the buses and stole ornaments. . Heritage Malta is keeping one from each local coachbuilder and also different types, such as those known as “tax-shape” or “bulldog” and even the more recent low-floors.
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Infamous consonant not about to disappear

March 15, 2015, 11:35 pm
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The infamous consonant għ, the silent h and the dragged ie are here to stay, with the council for the Maltese language debunking a myth which occasionally arises that these letters are about to disappear from the alphabet. “The Kunsill tal-Malti has never discussed, is not discussing and does not have the intention to discuss the removal of these letters,” its president Ray Fabri told this newspaper. Rumours have surfaced from time to time that the council might decide to do away with these letters but there was increased speculation on social media recently owing to discussions taking place within the body. However, the only issue the council is discussing is words borrowed from the English language: do we keep kejk, which has been assimilated within the Maltese language – we even have the plural kejkijiet – or write ‘cake’? What about words like ‘roundabout’, for which the language has not yet adopted a Maltese version? In 1984, the Akkademja tal-Malti had decided to write these words phonetically, as in swiċċ. The same rule stated that if you preferred writing ‘switch’, then this had to be written in italics or inverted commas. More in Times of Malta and the e-paper on...
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Music teacher who had sex with girl, 13, gets five years

March 15, 2015, 3:59 am
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The victim felt her life was ruined. Photo: Shutterstock

A former soldier who taught music in band clubs has been jailed for five years for having sex with a 13-year-old student who ended up falling in love with him. The girl was devastated when her 41-year-old music teacher Mario Testa stopped showing interest in her after a relationship. “We almost lost our daughter because of him. She tried to end her life several times. Our message to parents is to stand by your daughters – or sons – in such cases and don’t take it against them. Had we done that, we could have lost her,” the girl’s parents told The Sunday Times of Malta. The parents said that... This article is part of our premium content. Full story is available on Times of Malta Premium.
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Mayor’s anger over loss of councillors and cash

March 16, 2015, 2:06 am
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The mayor of Marsa is up in arms over the government’s decision to reduce the size of his council by two members and slash its budget by €20,000, saying this does not take the migrants’ open centre into consideration. Francis Debono and the council’s executive secretary, Adrian Attard, have filed a judicial letter of protest over the matter. The council has been reduced from seven to five members and its financial allocation by €20,000 to €464,000. The government’s decision was based on a statistical drop in the number of residents in the locality. But Mr Debono holds that the authorities disregarded the fact that Marsa has an open centre housing mig­rants who use the council’s services. “This decision does not make sense. The open centre can take up to 500 people and they are using the locality’s services despite not being officially registered as Marsa residents,” he said, describing the decision as “unfair”. “Our locality has this particular situation and the authorities have completely disregarded it,” Mr Debono said when contacted. Marsa is due to elect a new council in the April 11 elections.
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Lawyer not 100% sure that inspector recorded her

March 16, 2015, 9:48 am
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A lawyer told a court today that she could not be 100 per cent certain a police inspector had leaked information to columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia, although she said there was no one else to blame as she was alone with him in the room at the time when they were discussing a possible court case. The police inspector, Jason Sultana, under oath denied claims by lawyer Lynn Zahra that he had leaked a recording to Ms Caruana Galizia. They were testifying during challenge proceedings initiated by Dr Zahra whereby she challenged the Police Commission to take action against Mr Sultana. Dr Zahra referred to a post on Caruana Galizia’s blog on June 16, 2013, where she alleged that someone had recorded  Dr Zahra's discussion with the inspector about the possibility of filing criminal libel proceedings against her (the columnist). The meeting had taken place at the Sliema police station. Dr Zahra said that only the inspector and Police Superintendent Raymond D'Anastas were present for the meeting. Testifying before Magistrate Aaron Bugeja Dr Zahra alleged that during the meeting, Mr Sultana got out his mobile from his pocket, answered a phone call and then placed it on the desk to...
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More than 3,000 visit Marsa plant during open weekend

March 15, 2015, 10:01 am
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Enemalta employees welcomed over 3,000 visitors to the Marsa Power Station during the Open Weekend held yesterday and today. Visitors were taken on one-hour tours of the power station guided by engineers and technicians who operated its plants until it was switched off and put on cold standby a few days ago. Enemalta thanked customers who accepted its invitation to learn about electricity generation and the development of the Marsa Power Station since it was inaugurated in 1953.  
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Owner of car where baby found was not the father - police

March 16, 2015, 8:26 am
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Picture - Neville Mifsud

The police said today that the owner of the car where a baby was found alone yesterday was not the bay's father. The police reported yesterday that following a tip-off, policemen had found the baby in a VW Polo in Spencer Hill in Marsa. He was allegedly left unattended in the vehicle by the parents. It was originally claimed that the father - a 27 year-old foreigner residing in Birkirkara - went back to the car after the Police had arrived.  The police said today that the owner of the vehicle was not the father, but a friend of the mother. 
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PM explains Cyrus Engerer's role in the EU

March 16, 2015, 11:09 am
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The prime minister this evening gave some details about the role of his envoy in Malta's Representation to the EU when he replied to a parliamentary question by Beppe Fenech Adami (PN). Dr Muscat said the envoy (Cyrus Engerer) was not handed a letter of appointment since that was not the practice. He was engaged at Dar Malta on October 6, 2014 as the prime minster's special envoy to the EU. His responsibilities are: to coordinate with Permanent Representatives, their deputies, secretariats and ministers about heads of government meetings attended by the prime minister; To similarly coordinate with European institutions on themes of interest to the prime minister; To assist the prime minister during his meetings in the EU and to represent the Office of the Prime minister within the Representation. Along with the Permanent Representative he will prepare the prime minister's agenda for his meetings with EU institutions and follow-up the minutes of the meetings. H will also coordinate issues relating to legal proceedings against Malta at a political level.  The envoy was placed on pay scale three of special envoys. He was previously engaged as consultant in June 2014. 
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