Weekly News highlights

Six persons were arrested last Sunday after a police raid at the Valletta open-air market in which 10,700 pirate DVDs, CDs and PlayStation games were seized.

Another haul of 6,000 pirated DVDs, CDs and PlayStation games were seized from a garage in Hamrun on Monday.

Suspended jail term for rapist

A 30-year-old Libyan, Abubaker Ab Al Arab Sabri, was given a two-year suspended jail term on Monday for raping a woman, after Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera heard how the woman, who had forgiven him, had been paid compensation. Sabri, who had pleaded guilty, was also put on probation for four years.

Jailed for assaulting policemen

A Libyan's violent attempt to escape from the lock-up in Floriana, where he was waiting to be arraigned on drug charges, landed him in court accused of assaulting police officers and being jailed for three years.

On February 27, 2003, Akram Amar Swayah, 28, was detained at the lock-up when he freed one hand from the handcuffs, hit a police escort in the face and headed towards the door. PS Joseph Tonna chased him and a struggle followed. PS Consiglio Tanti intervened. Swayah was eventually charged with assaulting the two police sergeants.

Lm1,000 fine for manslaughter

Anthony Zammit, 49, was fined Lm1,000 on Monday after a court heard how his failure to keep a proper look out while driving his van and crossing from a main road into a side road ended in the death of an Australian motorcyclist, René Hrase, on July 5, 2000. Patricia Buchberger, who was riding pillion, was injured.

Escaped convict caught

Escaped prisoner Frank Pace is back behind bars after he was spotted and arrested by the police at Cirkewwa on Tuesday morning.

Pace, 25, of Senglea, escaped from police custody last Sunday when he was receiving medical treatment at St Luke's Hospital.

He was in prison serving time in connection with several cases of theft.

Boy tied to chair and burnt with hot lighter

Three teenage boys were conditionally discharged for two years for tying a boy to a chair and burning parts of his body with a hot lighter.

Magistrate Giovanni Grixti noted that the three teenagers had taken advantage of the boy, who did not have the same mental agility as they did, and played a joke in bad taste. He found the three guilty of seriously injuring the boy when they bound and burnt him at the Malta Labour Party club in Rabat on January 27, 2003.

Three arrested over young man's murder

Three men were arrested in connection with the murder of Simon Grech, 20, who was found dead in a field in Marsa on Wednesday afternoon. Grech was reported missing from his home in Siggiewi by his father, who told the police his son had already been missing for two days.

Sources said he had been stabbed about 20 times, mainly in the chest. The police said they were interrogating three men, including foreigners.

Mr Grech was found in a field near the HSBC Bank close to the roundabout at Marsa Cross by members of the police Vice Squad and his body was badly decomposed.

The possibility that the killing was a "crime of passion" was being explored along with other possible motives.

The police are appealing for anyone with information to call 2122-1111.

Illegal immigrants sent back to Malta

A group of 43 Chinese illegal immigrants, including 11 women, who crossed from Malta to Sicily on March 3 and March 12, arrived back to Malta on Thursday afternoon after being sent back by the Italians under an agreement between the two countries.

The immigrants are being questioned by immigration police, who want to establish whether they can identify the people who ferried them to Sicily and perhaps find other details about the middlemen involved in organising such trips.

Woman jailed for helping in human trafficking

A Chinese woman who was detained in prison for six months while awaiting judgment for her involvement in human trafficking will spend another two years in jail after a magistrate sentenced her to two and a half years on Thursday.

Magistrate Giovanni Grixti heard how 37-year-old Gen Yan had helped three Chinese men by introducing them to people who could help them make the clandestine trip to Sicily in October last year.

Ms Yan was paid $400 (Lm134) from each of the men for her involvement and had made arrangements for the men to stay in a Bugibba apartment while awaiting their trip. Due to a fault in the boat, the men spent a week lost at sea.

Last November, Ms Yan had filed an application in which she confessed to conspiracy and assisting the three men but the magistrate continued hearing evidence on the Attorney General's request. She faced a jail term ranging from six months to five years and/or a Lm10,000 fine.

Three charged with house thefts

Three young boys, whose names are not being published because they were minors at the time of the alleged crime, on Thursday were charged with burgling three Birkirkara houses. Two 20-year-old boys were charged with stealing Lm1,300 in cash from a house and causing damage in December 1998.

One of them and 26-year-old Paul Michael Kavanagh were charged with stealing cash, jewellery and electronic equipment from another house in February 1999. The 20-year-old allegedly involved in the two burglaries was further charged with carrying out a third one in September 1999.

The 20-year-olds were also charged with breaching the conditions of a previous release.

Court awards compensation

A constitutional application filed by the Pullicino family against the Commissioner of Lands was upheld on Thursday by Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco sitting in the First Hall of the Civil Court, who also ruled that a 32-year delay in formalising expropriation procedures was unjustifiable and constituted a breach of applicants' fundamental human rights.

The court however dismissed the family's submission that the expropriation had not taken place in the public interest. Applicants claimed that in February 1969 the Governor-General had issued a declaration which laid down that over 15 tumoli of land held by the Pullicino family in Kalafrana and Benghajsa were required by the government for a public purpose.

The family was awarded Lm5,000 in compensation.

Malta to report on enforcement of hunting rules

Malta will start filing an annual report on how EU environment legislation, specifically the rules on hunting and trapping, is being enforced locally, according to Nicholas Hanley, head of the nature and biodiversity unit of the EU Commission's DG Environment, who led a delegation from the Commission to Malta on Wednesday and Thursday to assess enforcement of the Habitats and the Birds Directives.

The first report should be presented by the end of this year and thereafter at the end of each year. Reports should include information on how the provisions of the directives are being implemented and statistics on the number of birds shot and trapped.

Ministers agree on low-cost airlines

A new strategy devised by a government core group will pave the way for the introduction of low-cost airlines to Malta. A meeting held between Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech, Government Investments Minister Austin Gatt and Parliamentary Secretary Tonio Fenech on Thursday endorsed a plan to ensure "sustainable air travel".

Dr Zammit Dimech said he would be calling a meeting with Irish airline Ryanair as well as other low-cost airlines in the coming weeks to sketch out an agreement. The government also plans to introduce preferential landing rates on those routes where it would like to see further growth.

The two main destinations under discussion for the time being are the Iberian peninsula and Scandinavia.