Seven prison officials guilty of absenteeism

Seven of the eight prison warders who were found absent from work during a ministerial surprise visit have been found guilty, The Sunday Times of Malta is informed. The officers will now have 10 days to appeal. If they choose not to, they will be disciplined according to set guidelines. The maximum punishment will likely be a warning and a five-day pay cut, especially as this is the first time any of them is being disciplined. A board set up to discipline prison warders has also recommended more staff be investigated. The warders, including two senior correctional officers, were absent when they were meant to be on duty during a surprise visit by Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia at the Corradino Correctional Facility last April. The visit led prison director Abraham Zammit to resign and a review of the prisons made a series of recommendations, including that eight officers should face disciplinary proceedings. A special board established under the terms of the Public Service Commission – the constitutionally appointed body regulating civil servants – presided over the hearings and found seven of them guilty of being absent from work. The acquitted officer was found to have been...