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Court upholds request prohibiting police auctions

March 17, 2015, 2:48 am
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Government authorities have been prohibited by the court from holding two public auctions. Mr Justice Joseph Zammit McKeon upheld a request filed by the Malta Police Association and Frankie Sammut and Malcolm Bondin and prohibited the authorities from holding two public auctions. The court heard that one of the two auctions was for the sale of 129 cars, boats and spare parts that were used by the police or held by the police. The second auction was for the sale of 800 firearms which were used by the police or which were in the possession of the police force. According to the association, no public officers, including police officers, were allowed to bid for any of the items that were to be sold in the auctions. The Association and Mr Sammut and Mr Bondin therefore requested the court to prohibit the Commissioner of Lands, the Permanent Secretary in the Home Affairs Ministry, the auctioneer and Obelisk Auctions Ltd from holding the auctions since public officers were not allowed to bid. Applicants submitted before the courts that there was no provision of the law that imposed the prohibition on the part of public officers to bid at auctions. Their exclusion was, therefore,...
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How Maltese words made it to the Oxford English Dictionary

March 17, 2015, 1:16 am
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While the Maltese have borrowed plenty of words from the British, they have also lent them a handful – ‘spitchered’ is one of them. Derived from the Maltese word spiċċa, the 1920 naval slang entry means “rendered inoperative, ruined”, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Likewise, sahha, lampuki and dghaisa were probably imported into the English language thanks to the thousands of British servicemen and tourists who came into regular contact with them. The word dghaisa even crowned Syamantak Payra the 2012 champion of the South Asian Spelling Bee. Read more on Times of Malta.
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Police chief dropped action over blunder by CID officers

March 17, 2015, 12:11 am
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Former police commissioner Peter Paul Zammit had dropped disciplinary action against two CID inspectors, who were blamed by an internal inquiry for a blunder that led to the imprisonment on an innocent man, Times of Malta has learnt. However, the police chief kept insisting on the dismissal of district inspector Elton Taliana from the police force even though he had solved the theft case and arraigned the right person. To date, disciplinary procedures against Mr Taliana are still ongoing. The controversial blunder took place in August 2013 when Darryl Luke Borg, 27, from Birkirkara, was accused of theft and sent to prison. He was released two days later after it emerged he had been wrongly accused. Read more on Times of Malta.
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House Committee stalemate in Henley debate

March 16, 2015, 11:20 am
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Justice Minister Owen Bonnici insisted before the Public Accounts Committee this evening that he could not give explanations about blacked-out clauses of the government's agreement with Henley and Partners on the Citizenship by Investment Scheme. (the passport scheme) He insisted that competition in this sector was stiff and giving any millimeter of information would be handing an advantage to competitors on a plate. Committee chairman Tonio Fenech argued that the minister could explain why the clauses had been blacked out, without divulging commercial matters. The government, he said, was not being transparent. Dr Bonnici denied the claim but insisted that competitiveness had to be guarded. Mario de Marco asked if, in the contract, Henley and Partners were precluded from advising other governments in the same way as they had advised the Maltese government. That clause, he said, did not appear to exist in the contract. Therefore there were no grounds for the government to withhold information on the basis of competition. Dr Bonnici said he could not reply and that question should be asked to representatives of Identity Malta.  However, were it for Henley and Partners more...
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Holmes loses €7,000 compensation for undue delay in his trial, court rejects discrimination claims

March 16, 2015, 8:18 am
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Welshman Daniel Holmes, who is serving a 10-year jail term for cultivating cannabis, has lost an appeal before the Constitutional Court where he pleaded that he was not given legal aid during police investigations against him; he was not given effective legal assistance by the legal aid lawyer when he was arraigned before the Gozo and he was discriminated against when the Attorney General decided that his drugs case should be heard before a judge rather than a Magistrate, thus making his liable for harsher penalty. The Constitutional Court also upheld an Appeal by the Attorney General against a Civil Court decision that the criminal proceedings against Mr Holmes had taken an unreasonable length of time. It reversed the court's decision to award Mr Holmes compensation of €7,000. Mr Holmes had been jailed for 10 years and six months and fined 23,000 for cultivating about a kilo of cannabis. In its decision today, the court ruled that the absence of the lawyer during interrogation, by itself, did not lead to breach of the right to a fair hearing, as Mr Holmes had claimed. In that case, Mr Holmes' statement to the police could be considered irrelevant in view of his admission, the...
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Rabat roundabout to become recreation area

March 16, 2015, 5:42 am
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A large roundabout between Rabat and Chadwick Lakes near the government housing estate is to be turned in a family recreation area, playground and garden and will also incorporate  an information centre about water conservation. Traffic arrangements will be changed in order to enlarge the area. Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg, who is responsible for the administration of EU funds, said the project was part of works on a new drainage system and resurfacing of nearby Vjal il-Haddiem in the Nigret area of Rabat. The €1.5m project is being financed through the Norway/Economic Union funds and is set for completion in April next year. Over the coming months, EU structural funds will also be used for works in Fiddien Valley and Chadwick Lakes.      
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Bullet fired by Sheehan lodged itself in fuel pipe

March 16, 2015, 6:26 am
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One of bullets fired at a car by the former driver of then Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia lodged itself in a pipe that leads to the fuel tank, a court heard today. Ballistic experts testified that the Vauxhall Insignia driven by Stephen Smith was speeding away from constable Paul Sheehan when the shots were fired.  The first bullet went through the rear bumper and came to a halt in the pipe that leads to the fuel tank. The second hit the roof of the Insignia. It had a different direction, indicating it was fired when the car was turning around the corner into another street.  Brigadier Maurice Calleja, Police Inspector Charlot Casha and Police Sergeant Jesmond Cassar were testifying in the compilation of evidence against Mr Sheehan,40.  An inquiry set up to investigate the shooting incident had concluded that Mr Sheehan had fired twice at Mr Smith’s Vauxhall on November 19 last year and that there was an attempt to cover up the incident. This led to Dr Mallia’s dismissal.  Mr Sheehan is pleading not guilty to attempted murder, using violence against Mr Smith, causing voluntary damage to a vehicle, firing a firearm in a public place and exceeding the limits of his authority...
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Updated - Court hears how argument became a tragedy

March 16, 2015, 3:09 am
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Updated - Adds more evidence - 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...
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Updated - Air Malta flight turns back because abnormal water condensation

March 16, 2015, 8:55 am
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An Air Malta flight to Manchester turned back to Malta today as a precautionary measure because of abnormal water condensation in a window, which initially led crew to think it was cracked.   The Airbus A319 was near Sardinia, an hour into the flight, when it turned back. There was no emergency. The aircraft landed back in Malta at 4.45p.m. "After inspection the aircraft was declared as serviceable since no cracks were found. Above-normal water condensation which accumulated between the window panes, caused this alert," Air Malta said. The airline apologized to its clients and said the issue had been resolved and the same plane was operating the same flight once more.  
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Mum who left baby in car to be charged

March 16, 2015, 11:42 pm
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A 34-year-old Eritrean single mother is set to be charged with child neglect after leaving her baby girl unattended for more than an hour in a locked car in Marsa, the police have told Times of Malta. Charges will also be filed against the owner of the vehicle, a 27-year old Eritrean residing in Birkirkara, who was accompanying the woman. However, the police have clarified that the man was not the baby’s father as initially stated. The incident happened last Sunday shortly after 10am when an anonymous caller alerted the police to a baby locked inside a blue Volkswagen Polo. The three-month-old was in a carrycot on the front passenger seat of the car parked a short distance away from the Sunday Market at Spencer Hill in Marsa. Read more in Times of Malta and listen to an eyewitness account below.
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John Dalli accuses Giovanni Kessler of perjury as Kessler testifies that two members of Dalli's cabinet told Olaf he had tried to push for snus ban to be lifted twice

March 17, 2015, 1:55 am
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Two members of former EU Commissioner John Dalli's cabinet told Olaf, the EU's anti-fraud agency, that on two occasions the former Commission had tried to push for the ban on snus to be lifted, Giovanni Kessler said in court this morning. Mr Dalli immediately issued a statement accusing Mr Kessler of perjury and saying he expected the police to take action. The head of the EU’s anti-fraud agency is in court this morning in the case brought against Sliema restaurateur Silvio Zammit. During the sitting, Mr Zammit pulled the middle finger at Mr Kessler as the latter identified him. Throughout the sitting Mr Zammit is constantly passing comments, implying Kessler's testimony put "Pinocchio to shame". In a statement, just after noon, Mr Dalli issued a statement saying he is following Mr Kessler's testimony with disgust. "I will comment later on his testimony." "I will comment now hon his new fabrication purported to be testimony from Joanna Darmnanin and Paula Duarte. "The dates stated by Kessler are invented to coincide with his theory of meetings. But he did not realise that on one of the dates mentioned – the 28th February 2012 -, not only did I not propose a lifting of the Snus...
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Over 400 protected finches seized on board Sicily ferry

March 18, 2015, 12:00 am
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More than 400 protected finches were smuggled into the country from Sicily by an Italian man on board the Virtù Ferries catamaran early yesterday morning, Times of Malta has learnt. He attempted to smuggle the birds in vegetable crates stacked on top of each other in his car but was arrested on arrival. There was a delay in the investigation as the protected birds were still being kept in the crates at the offices of the Administrative Law Enforcement Unit until yesterday afternoon, as authorities attempted to identify a place to send them to. Such smuggled birds are usually sent to quarantine but this procedure was meant to be stopped following the death of another 500 finches smuggled into the country last October. Read more on Times of Malta.
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Dalli files police report against Kessler over 'perjury'

March 17, 2015, 8:25 am
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Former EU Commissioner John Dalli had filed a complaint to the police for defamation and perjury by the director general of the EU's anti fraud agency, Giovanni Kessler. The complaint followed Dr Kessler's testimony in court this morning (see separate story) In his complaint, Mr Dalli said Dr Kessler's testimony  in the case against Silvio Zammit was "fraught with selective quotations which have the effect of manipulation of the truth". As reported in the press, Dr Kessler had stated that: “Dalli, on two occasions on 24 January 2012 and 28 February 2012, pushed for the lifting of the ban, or he tried to see what was necessary to do so”. This, Mr Dalli said, was an outright lie. "Onthe 28th February 2012, in a meeting that I had with my cabinet and DG Sanco between 11:30am and 12:30 pm, I finalized with them the parameters on which they had to formulate the preferred options in the impact assessment that they were to prepare for submission as the first step for the enactment of the directive. These parameters included the Ban on snus and also on other smokeless nicotine products. Based on these parameters, SANCO, my cabinet and myself had a meeting with the Health NGO’s and MEP’s...
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Kessler no-show for House committee meeting

March 17, 2015, 11:05 am
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Giovanni Kessler, the director-general of Olaf, the EU anti-fraud agency, did not show up for a meeting of the House Privileges Committee this evening The Speaker said Dr Kessler was notified yesterday afternoon to appear before the committee but he replied today that he had not been granted authorisation by the European Commission to take part. The committee is considering a complaint by the prime minister against the leader of the opposition after Dr Busuttil claimed that the government had interfered with the police to stop investigations against John Dalli. The Speaker, Anglu Farrugia, read a letter by the European Commission refusing authorisation (see pdf below). He said he disagreed with the claim by the commission that authorisation was being refused because of short notice, given that the committee had been corresponding with Dr Kessler since September.  Chris Said (PN) said a formal request should now be made to the Commission for Dr Kessler to appear before the Committee. The committee should also consider a letter which Dr Kessler wrote to the committee in July and the evidence he gave in court this morning.  Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said the government...
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Private sector to run new Gozo hospital and revamped St Luke's

March 18, 2015, 4:17 am
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The private sector will be asked to develop and run the Gozo and St Luke's hospitals under a government investment proposal worth €200 million. The ambitious plan was unveiled this morning by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, Health Minister Konrad Mizzi and other government ministers. Under the terms of the proposed public-private partnership the private investor will be responsible for the capital expenditure and will be given the facility to operate a private hospital on both sites. However, the government will be contracting hundreds of beds for use by the public health system. Dr Muscat said the plan will represent "a step change" in healthcare and will put free healthcare on a sustainable footing while creating an economic niche. Health Minister Konrad Mizzi said healthcare will remain free while services will improve. He explained the price the government will pay for the beds contracted from the private operator will be equivalent to current running costs for the Gozo Hospital, the various facilities still operating from St Luke's and the Karen Grech rehabilitation hospital. A request for proposals seeking interested private investors will be issued in 10 days with the...
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Speaker turns down John Dalli request to confront Kessler in Privileges Committee

March 17, 2015, 6:58 am
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The Speaker of the House, Anglu Farrugia, has turned down a request by John Dalli to be given permission to confront  Giovanni Kessler, Director-General of Olaf, the EU's anti-fraud agency, at this evening's meeting of the Parliamentary Privileges Committee. Dr Farrugia said that according to Standing orders, Mr Dalli's presence at the meeting could not be 'of a participatory nature' . The Speaker said the committee was not the fora where such a request for a confrontation could be entertained.  It was a report by Dr Kessler which precipitated Mr Dalli's resignation from the European Commission. Mr Dalli in a letter to the Speaker earlier today reminded him that he had written to him some months ago and received no  reply. "I renew my request to confront Kessler. This especially after the manipulation of facts and outright lies he uttered in his court testimony today," he said. In his  letter to the Speaker Mr Dalli said he was also seeking permission to be able to confront Dr Kessler. See Mr Dalli's letter on pdf below.(It is dated June 17, 2014.)
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Illegal billboards now used by hunters

March 18, 2015, 12:46 am
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Illegal billboards which the planning authority has been promising to remove for the past year are now being used by the hunters’ lobby to mount their Yes campaign posters, Times of Malta has found out. A case in point is a billboard structure at the top of Labour Avenue in Naxxar, originally erected before the 2013 general election to promote the Labour Party. Despite an enforcement order last July giving the company responsible for it three days before Mepa was to take direct action, the illegal structure is still in place. Read more on Times of Malta.
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Observers' verdict on the Muscat government

March 17, 2015, 11:08 pm
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Independent observers Michael Briguglio and Martin Scicluna, neither of whom supported the Gonzi government before the last election, gave their verdict on the Muscat government during TimesTalk yesterday. They were asked to rate the government on the environment, the economy, energy, social change and meritocracy (Malta Taghna lkoll). See their replies above and below.
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Quick-fire questions: Muscat No to pushbacks, Busuttil does not exclude AD coalition

March 17, 2015, 11:49 am
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Prime Minister Joseph Muscat this evening promised he will not threaten pushback of migrants again, while Opposition leader Simon Busuttil did not rule out a coalition with Alternattiva. The declarations were made in answer to quickfire questions on TimesTalk. Dr Busuttil was also asked if, given the opportunity, the Opposition would again abstain in the Civil Unions vote. He replied 'no'. Asked if he would re-appointed Manuel Mallia to the Cabinet, Dr Muscat said all MPs, including Dr Mallia, could be appointed minister. See the exchange above. See the whole debate at http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150317/timestalk/watch-muscat-busuttil-in-fiery-debate-on-times-talk.560354      
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Watch: Muscat and Busuttil clash over ‘bribery’ claim

March 17, 2015, 8:14 am
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A debate between Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Simon Busuttil reached a tense climax when the Opposition leader suggested his political rival got bribed. The trigger came from a play by Dr Muscat on the statement made Dr Busuttil before the general election in which he predicted that the country might be forced to ask for a bailout should Labour be elected. “I think what he wanted was a bailout for his party,” Dr Muscat said. The retort was quick. “That’s because we don’t get bribed,” fired back Dr Busuttil. At this point the Prime Minister asked if Dr Busuttil was suggesting that he got bribed and Dr Busuttil again retorted in no time: “Of course”. He quickly qualified the comment saying the damning report of the Auditor General into the government’s decision to buy back the lease of the Café Premier for €4.2 million raised this sort of suspicion. However, the Prime Minister at that point had already gone on the attack, saying the statement was unacceptable and that his opponent had reached new depths. 
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