Weekly News highlights

Two young men, Gordie Felice, 22, a machine operator of Qormi, and William Agius, 18, unemployed, of Zabbar, were remanded in custody after they were charged last Sunday with the biggest street haul of Ecstasy tablets.

The two were arrested yesterday week and the police alleged that some 2,043 Ecstasy tablets with a street value of about Lm12,000 were found in their possession.

Biker dies in off-road accident

Darrin Dimech, 22, of Tarxien, died on the spot on Monday when he lost control of his motorcycle as he was riding along an off-road track in Ta' Qali.

The police said he was practising on the ASM Circuit Track when he fell off and the motorcycle landed on him.

Man jailed for life claims human right violation

Ibrahim Ramandan Ghamber Shnishah, a Libyan who was sentenced to life imprisonment on Monday, in connection with hairstylist Alfie Rizzo's murder six years ago, filed an application to the European Court claiming a violation of his right to a fair hearing with a reasonable time before an impartial tribunal.

Shnishah submitted that he was not tried within a reasonable time for his trial commenced on November 22 and was concluded a week later, when he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Taken globally, this meant that the criminal proceedings against him had lasted six years, nine months and ten days which, he said, was not in conformity with the requirement of a trial within a reasonable time.

Seven fined Lm900 for ignoring safety rules

Seven people - an owner of a garage dealing in construction works, a building contractor, a supervisor, two company directors, and two individuals who filed a case against two OHS officers and never appeared in court - were fined Lm900 in separate cases by the Criminal Court on Monday for various contraventions of rules and regulations regarding occupational health and safety.

The OHSA has now filed a case against the individuals on various issues and an arrest warrant has been issued against them to ensure that they appear in court for the next sitting.

Zurrieq traffic fatality

A Marsaxlokk man, Antoine Seychell, 27, lost his life tragically on Tuesday in a traffic accident in Valletta Road, Zurrieq. The accident took place after the man lost control of his Alfa Romeo and crashed into a tree. The car was extensively damaged. An ambulance rushed to the scene, but the man was certified dead on the spot.

Prisoners' escape foiled

Prisoners Melchior Spiteri, 30, and 44-year-old Tunisian Ibrahim Mohsen were caught red handed as they were about to escape from Corradino Correctional Facilities on Monday night.

Both prisoners are serving time for murder and have succeeded in escaping several times only to be caught and reincarcerated. Spiteri, a prisoner since he was 16, is currently serving a 35-year sentence. He has escaped from prison five times. Mohsen, life prisoner, who has been at Corradino since 1988, has escaped four times.

Body found at sea

The human remains fished out from the sea in Cirkewwa on Wednesday belong to a man, an autopsy revealed on Friday. Initially, medical opinion given to the police led to believe that they were those of a woman, fuelling suspicion they might have been the remains of Jane Vella, who was thrown off a cliff in Gozo in December 1999.

The autopsy established that the remains were those of a man probably aged between 30 and 40.

The police are now expected to investigate the list of missing persons in a bid to establish whether the body could belong to any of them. DNA and other tests might have to be made to establish the identity.

Media ban on multiple rape case

On Wednesday, Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera banned all media from reporting or making reference to the case of 13 boys and a girl, aged between 15 and 20, who are charged with defiling 16 minors.

The magistrate upheld the request made by the defence lawyers and the lawyers appearing parte civile and ruled that, from this point forward, the reporting of the case or any reference to the case on all forms of media was banned.

This was to protect the interest of justice and ensure that the accused did not suffer any prejudice since, at this stage, they were all presumed to be innocent.

Daring theft in Republic Street

A young thief was seen trying to force open a showcase of a jewellery shop in Republic Street, Valletta, on Wednesday morning, in full view of passers-by. The thief managed to open the shop window of a jewellery shop in the remains of the Opera House and started stuffing his pockets with gold items.

The salesgirl realised something was happening and went out. On seeing the man stealing the gold she snatched some of it back but the man threatened her. Someone finally called the police who gave chase and caught up with the thief in Melita Street.

Former health minister awarded libel damages

Health minister Louis Deguara last week was ordered by Mr Justice Geoffrey Valenzia to pay Lm800 in libel damages to Opposition MP Michael Farrugia.

In his writ filed in 1999, Dr Farrugia had requested the court to rule that an article written by the defendant and published in In-Nazzjon in July 1999 and comments made by the defendant on Radio 101 were libellous in his regard.

Dr Farrugia claimed that the article entitled Skandlu jew Korruzzjoni? and the comments on Radio 101 were libellous and gave the impression that Dr Farrugia had committed irregularities and abuses when he was a government minister.

New working group on inclusive and special education

Former Labour Finance Minister Lino Spiteri will head a working group to review the inclusive and special education sector, which will also include special school headteacher George Borg and educators Anne Marie Callus, Joseph Cauchi and Micheline Sciberras.

The ministry's policy unit is to provide the necessary administrative and secretarial support. The group, which was launched on Thursday by Education Minister Louis Galea, is to present a report to the minister by the end of June and address the situation of inclusive education in kindergarten classes, in primary, secondary, post-secondary and special schools in Malta and Gozo, in both the public and non-public sectors.

Cleared of arson charge

Saviour Bugeja, 47, of Zejtun, who stood trial for arson, on Friday walked out of court a free man after a judge cleared him on the grounds that the evidence produced by the prosecution did not prove the charges to the level beyond reasonable doubt.

Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono cleared Bugeja after ruling that the prosecution had mainly based its case on circumstantial evidence that was not unequivocal and the only direct evidence left him tormented by reasonable doubt.

Bugeja silently embraced his defence counsel, Dr Giannella Caruana Curran and Dr Emmanuel Mallia, on hearing the judge clear him of setting fire to the main door of Joseph Gafà, his superior at the Drydocks, on March 28, 2000.