Seven years jail for attempted murder

Emanuel Zammit was yesterday jailed for seven-and-a-half years for the attempted murder of Michael Angelo Fenech in Madliena on February 23, 1998.

Jurors had on Wednesday found Zammit, 65, of Cospicua, guilty of the charge by six votes to three.

They also found him guilty of holding Fenech against his will by seven votes to two, the possession of a firearm at the time of the commission of the crime, by six votes to three, and unanimously found him guilty of firing a gun in a residential area.

Jurors returned an eight-one guilty verdict for keeping and carrying a firearm and ammunition without a licence and a seven-two guilty verdict for failing to pay value added tax and duty on a sub-machine gun and failing to inform authorities about its possession.

Zammit was unanimously acquitted of stealing court exhibits, including the sub-machine gun from the strong room at the law courts on the night between September 18 and 19, 1993 and acquitted of handling stolen property by eight votes to one.

On handing down judgment, Mr Justice Geoffrey Valenzia noted that due to the nature of the main crime, that is attempted murder using a sub-machine gun, a suspended jail term was not appropriate. The judge also took note of the juror's unanimous plea in which they asked him to take Zammit's age and health condition into consideration.

He jailed Zammit for seven years for attempted murder and six months for the other charges bringing the total jail term to seven-and-a-half years.

The judge ordered that the time Zammit spent in preventive custody be deducted from the jail term and also fined him Lm900.