A Transport Malta employee, who bragged about his power as “the minister’s cousin,” has been charged with harassing a female colleague, whom he allegedly threatened to throw off Dingli cliffs.

Clifford Micallef, 49, is alleged to have subjected the woman to four months of intimidation that included trying to hack into her work computer, sending her unwanted flowers, and smashing glasses when she spoke to other men. 

She told a court this week how he would brag to her and other colleagues that he was a cousin of Ian Borg – the then transport minister – and wielded “great power” at the authority. 

“Since he was the minister’s cousin I was afraid that I would get transferred or lose my job,” she testified.

The woman described how she repeatedly made complaints about Micallef to try to escape his unwanted attention. 

However, months after informing her manager about the glass-smashing incident during a work party, Micallef “got a promotion and a Transport Malta car”.

Matters came to a head when Micallef told a senior authority official, who had broached him about several shortcomings at the workplace, that he would “throw someone off Dingli Cliffs.”

Although that “someone” was not named, everyone knew that he was referring to the alleged victim in light of the series of events which had taken place over the preceding months. 

The information was passed on to Human Resources who sought legal advice. 

A report was subsequently filed at the Birkirkara police station and charges were issued against Micallef for causing the woman to fear violence and also for harassment.

He is pleading not guilty.

When testifying in the accused’s presence this week, the woman explained how she first joined Transport Malta as a clerk in 2017 and later was transferred to the reception desk at its Lija offices.

Micallef worked within a separate unit but would drop by for a chat while on his way out for a cigarette.

Those visits became ever more frequent and as weeks went by, Micallef began to spend more time lounging at the reception, sometimes with the excuse of bringing her coffee, she said. 

Running the desk single-handedly meant that she could not leave her post unattended. 

But other employees who noticed Micallef’s presence, would later warn her to be careful. 

He allegedly told fellow workers that “he was the minister’s [Ian Borg’s] cousin and wielded great power in there.”

He had said as much to the victim, encouraging her to go to him if she were to face any problems at work.

He was “powerful and could even remove people” from the Authority, he bragged.

Bouquet of roses

On her birthday in November, an eCabs driver walked up to the reception desk, holding a bouquet of roses addressed to her from an anonymous sender.

When she thanked her boyfriend for the gift, he texted her: “It’s not from me.”

A while later, Micallef came along and casually asked about the bouquet.

When she told him that she intended to throw it away, he told her that it was a costly gift from him “to make [her] day better.”

The woman said she told him that he was a married man, that she was in a relationship and that Micallef was simply a work colleague. 

She then reported the incident to her manager who told her to tell Micallef to stay away from the reception area. 

Micallef shrugged off that message, retorting that he “simply couldn’t care less” and that “no one would tell him anything because they knew who he was related to.”

The incident angered her because “everyone at work” seemed to be under the impression that “there was something going on between them [herself and Micallef].”

The accused had booked the delivery of the bouquet using a phone inside a cleaner’s office, the witness explained.

Another time, when she returned to work after a holiday abroad with her boyfriend, she found her computer locked.

She panicked and sought assistance from the IT specialists who told her that someone not familiar with her password must have tried to access her computer.

She reported the matter to her manager. 

Micallef later came to her desk and told her that he had tried to open her computer to check something.

Smashed glasses

On another occasion, while briefly and rather reluctantly attending a Christmas event for TM employees, someone went up to her, telling her that she had better leave. 

Seeing her chat with other male colleagues had apparently angered Micallef who got drunk and ended up smashing glasses. 

Her manager later told her that her superiors would speak to Micallef. 

Months later, “he [Micallef] got a promotion and a TM car,” the witness said.

She requested and obtained a transfer to the Authority’s Marsa offices in the hope of distancing herself from the man who also used to turn up at her part-time workplace.

Asked directly by presiding Magistrate Astrid May Grima how all this had affected her, the witness said that she was “very upset and unhappy.”

The alleged harassment continued in spite of her move. 

Colleagues told her that Micallef would check emails that she was copied into, even though their jobs were not related. 

Warning to stop

He would also walk in to speak to her manager and then ask her to make coffee and would take his lunch break at a restaurant near her workplace. 

Her manager had warned Micallef to “stop or else matters would escalate,” and the accused had vowed that he would.

But he didn’t, the woman went on. 

Last June, Micallef walked into the office kitchenette where the victim was preparing coffee for a director. 

The accused claimed that she had taken a fancy to another male colleague.

She denied outright and told him to stop. 

Micallef was later summoned by the Director of TM’s Maritime Security Compliance Monitoring Unit, David Attard, who had received reports about how the employee would drive his service car outside work hours.

 He also allegedly intimated fellow workers and turned up at different departments within the authority’s structure, including that where the victim worked.

He was warned and was subsequently suspended from his job while facing separate proceedings before a disciplinary board for work-related shortcomings.

Asked about her situation today, the witness said that when she saw the accused outside, he now did not speak to her nor did he attempt to contact her ever since her superiors had reported the matter to the police.

The case continues. 

Lawyer Albert Zerafa is defence counsel. Lawyer Marita Pace Dimech is appearing parte civile.