Two protagonists in an alleged subornation attempt by suspected drug kingpin Jordan Azzopardi’s girlfriend took the witness stand on Wednesday, one of them landing a €300 fine after spitting in open court.

Wednesday's proceedings continued against the mother-of-five, who had been re-arrested at the dock last month after a witness, testifying in the case against the woman and the alleged drug lord, had claimed that she had offered him €20,000 not to take the witness stand.

That testimony had brought about an unexpected twist to the proceedings, with the woman, who had been formerly granted bail, ending back under preventive custody on the spot while protesting her innocence.

A common ‘friend’ of Mr Azzopardi, his partner and the witness, allegedly tempted with the bribe, took the witness stand on Wednesday, shedding light upon the dynamics of the whole saga played outside court.

Jonathan Mangion, after being cautioned by the Court, chose to testify, explaining how he had paid a €4,800 deposit on the purchase of a car from Luke Vella, which vehicle was subsequently seized by the police.

“Tell Jordan to give me €10,000, and I'll give you €5,000 out of that,” Mr Vella had allegedly told Mr Mangion when the latter insisted upon getting his deposit back.

When testifying in the drug-trafficking compilation in June, Mr Vella had explained how he had rented premises in Pietà to set up a ‘BnB’. However, while the witness was serving time behind bars, Mr Azzopardi had allegedly taken over the premises, converting them into one of his drug stores.

Mr Vella had later upped his request to €20,000, Mr Mangion testified on Wednesday, explaining how he had contacted Jordan’s partner since he could not speak to Jordan who was currently behind bars.

“Was it you who called the woman first?” asked defence lawyer Franco Debono.

“Yes. I made the first step to collect the €4,800 which I had paid to Luke earlier on,” came the reply. “Obviously I couldn’t speak to Jordan, because he's in jail.”

“Why didn’t you ask why Luke was involving third parties?” went on Dr Debono.

“I didn’t tell him anything. All three of them were friends of mine,” said the witness, adding that Mr Vella had allegedly told him to tell Jordan to hand over €10,000 “and I won’t testify.”

Relations had later turned sour between Mr Mangion and Mr Vella when the latter did not get the money, explained the witness, claiming to have been verbally insulted and threatened by Mr Vella.

“I never spoke to Jordan,” the witness insisted.

Just then, Mr Vella himself walked into the courtroom, heading towards a seat before being promptly told by the presiding Magistrate to wait for his turn to testify outside.

The young man turned on his heels and, in an apparently angry gesture, spat at the floor before walking out.

The gesture did not pass unnoticed by the Court who, shortly afterwards, addressed the matter when the man returned to testify, after necessary precautions by security guards to ensure that the two witnesses would not cross paths.

“A while ago, when you were asked to go outside, you spat on the floor, Mr Vella,” Magistrate Doreen Clarke said.

The man at the witness stand mumbled incoherently in reply.

However, the Court minuted that such behaviour was deplorable and not permissible in a court of law, and proceeded to fine the man €300 for contempt of Court.

Recounting the alleged bribery, Mr Vella explained how third parties had asked him what he wanted in exchange for not testifying. 

“Tell him [I want] €100,000”, he had allegedly replied, knowing that such an exorbitant sum would not be met.

The witness then went on to explain how Mr Mangion had called him and how he had been spoken to by Jordan’s girlfriend.

“I have lots of recordings. I’ll give you my mobile so you may check for yourself,” the man told prosecuting Inspector Mark Anthony Mercieca.

“Jonathan Mangion has just testified that you owed him some €4,000,” asked Dr Debono.

“No. He had paid the deposit and he took his money back,” came the reply.

“What about your offer not to testify?” prodded Dr Debono further.

“Could be. I wanted the money for the Pietà apartment and I would still have testified nonetheless,” said Mr Vella.

When making submissions on bail, Dr Debono stressed that Wednesday’s testimonies by the two protagonists behind the alleged bribery, showed that the initiative had not stemmed from the accused nor her partner.

“Each of today’s witnesses, in his own way, confirmed that it had been Vella’s initiative,” said Dr Debono, also stressing that it was inconceivable for a person to record his own attempt at bribing a witness, a fact allegedly attributed to the accused.

Inspector Mercieca objected to bail in view of the fact that civilian witnesses were still to testify.

The court declared that it would decree upon the bail application in chambers.

The case continues.

Lawyer Amadeus Cachia was also defence counsel. Lawyer Anne-Marie Cutajar from the AG’s Office also prosecuted.