Neville Gafà has denied rumours that he threatened Karl Gouder, saying he never met, spoke or messaged the late former MP. 

Gafà, a former OPM official who now runs an eponymous blog, published a post on Tuesday in which he described Gouder as "the mascot to pigging out".

Gouder was found dead the following morning in Valletta close to the former Customs House. His death is not being treated as suspicious, police sources say. 

Blogger Mark Camilleri subsequently alleged that police had questioned two people in connection with having threatened Gouder. Camilleri later named Gafa, claiming the former OPM official had sent Gouder threatening text messages. 

Malta Skills Agency CEO and former PN MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando also claimed that Gouder had received threats, but stopped short of naming names. Pullicino Orlando said he had reported what he knew to the police. 

Meanwhile, Gouder's grieving family has asked the public for any information about his actions or whereabouts in the days leading to his death. 

On Wednesday, Gafà distanced himself from the threat claims and said he had not been spoken to by the police.

"I never knew the late Karl Gouder. We never met, never spoke and never exchanged messages or emails," he said. 

Gafà said he had taken his blog post about Gouder offline out of respect for a man who had just lost his life, and not because there was anything wrong with it.

Gafà's blog post targeted Gouder in connection with the latter's bid to become the PN's general sectary - a bid he announced just days before his death. 

Gouder had twice been coopted into parliament, Gafà wrote, and was therefore a huge beneficiary of PN government favouritism and "pigging out".  

'Malicious speculations'

"The post was simply a political commentary based on facts," Gafà wrote in another blog post on Wednesday.

"It was a fair comment and I'm considering re-uploading it to shut down malicious speculations, so it's clear to everyone that it was a fair comment on a political figure."

Gafà was also asked whether he believed the words "pigging out" were too harsh and could have created significant mental distress on Gouder.

"Not at all. There will come a time when people will know exactly what happened," he said.

"The words 'pigging out' have been used for a long time in politics."

Not the first time

It is the second time in as many weeks that Gafà's writing has attracted scrutiny. 

Just last week, writers' NGO PEN Malta said it was concerned that one of Gafa's Facebook posts was intended as a threat towards blogger and author Mark Camilleri.

In the post, Gafà told Camilleri - who lives abroad - that he knew where he was living and that he would be visiting him for coffee and a chat.

Gafà had also been previously charged in court for threatening an Italian journalist.

Italian journalist Nello Scavo had testified that Gafà had threatened him when he had warned him: “Stop your dirty business. If not, we will be stopping you.”

But speaking to Times of Malta on Wednesday, Gafà implied Mark Camilleri was the true culprit that was about to drive a person to her death.

"Ironically, the man who is stoking hatred towards me by saying I threatened Gouder, is the same person who, months ago, almost led another person to the edge of losing her pregnancy and committing suicide," he said.

"And he did it with a ferocious attack on her private life. Again, I relay my condolences to the family of Karl Gouder."

Although he would not mention names, it is understood he was referring to Camilleri's blog posts about Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar's chats with Yorgen Fenech at a time when she was pregnant earlier this year.