A funeral director who posted his business card in the mail box of a deceased patient’s family, even before news of the death had been divulged by hospital authorities, was back in court on Wednesday as criminal proceedings continued in his regard.

Mario Lia, 57, was arraigned in February alongside Angelo Vella, 62, another funeral director also from Zabbar, and Anthony Mercieca, a 59-year old care worker who leaked the confidential information about patients at the Mater Dei Oncology Centre.

The two undertakers had pleaded not guilty to having bribed the hospital worker who, in turn, was charged (and admitted to) having leaked sensitive personal data, accepted bribes as well as relapsing.

As the compilation of evidence continued against Mr Lia, Inspector Anna Marie Xuereb, from the Economic Crimes Unit, testified how on February 17, 2018 she had received a report from Mater Dei CEO Ivan Falzon about a complaint lodged by a distraught man whose father had been receiving palliative treatment at the Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre.

The son alleged that when his father succumbed to his illness, funeral directors had received news of the death even before the patient’s family.

One of these had allegedly been about to knock at the family’s door and had been stopped just in time by some other relative who told him that the family was not yet aware of the death of their beloved one.

However, the funeral director had popped one of his business cards into the family letter box and had even phoned the next day.

Acting on this report, investigators soon traced the funeral directors concerned. After obtaining a list of all cancer deaths between November 2017 and February 2018, and the telephone logs relative to the Oncology Centre, the police tracked down the culprits.

It became evident that Mr Lia and Mr Vella had received calls from the same number of an employee at Sir Anthony Mamo Hospital.

This number belonged to Anthony Mercieca, the nurse employed in palliative care, whose outgoing and incoming calls betrayed his communication with the two rival undertakers operating from the same locality.

Confronted by the police, Mr Mercieca had immediately admitted to having colluded with the two men. They had asked him to pass on the sensitive information, enticing him with a promise of “keeping him in mind” when their services were engaged by his family.

During her testimony, Inspector Xuereb recalled how Mr Lia had been “rather disbelieving” when police called him, asking him to go to the police station for questioning.

He had in fact turned up later in the evening while on his way to accompany an elderly lady to St Vincent de Paule Hospital.

The man had insisted that he had never passed on any money to the nurse. However, at one point, he had admitted that should Mr Mercieca require anything, such as a watch, he would buy it for him.

Asked about the fact that he had been spotted riding his scooter in the vicinity of the deceased’s family home, the man denied any wrongdoing, pointing out that the family had approached him and spoke to him about the possibility of a funeral even before their loved one’s death.

Earlier this week, Anthony Mercieca, the care worker charged with leaking the sensitive information, admitted to his wrongdoing and was handed a 2-year jail term suspended for four years, as well as a €1,000 fine.

When meting out punishment, Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech took note of the nature of the offences and the accused’s criminal record which showed that he was no first time offender. On the other hand, the accused had filed an early guilty plea and had fully cooperated with the police.

The court also imposed a general and perpetual interdiction upon the accused, ordering publication of the judgment in the Government Gazette.

Proceedings against Mr Lia and Mr Vella continue.

Inspector Anna Marie Xuereb is prosecuting.

Lawyer Mark Mifsud Cutajar is defence counsel to Mr Lia