Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1022495
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 5 SEPTEMBER 2018 4 NEWS MINISTRY FOR HEALTH PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARIAT FOR EUROPEAN FUNDS AND SOCIAL DIALOGUE PUBLIC HEALTH IS YOUR GUARANTEE. TAKE PART. NATIONAL SURVEY ON THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH PROJECT PART-FINANCED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION MINISTRY FOR HEALTH PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARIAT FOR EUROPEAN FUNDS AND SOCIAL DIALOGUE PUBLIC HEALTH IS YOUR GUARANTEE. TAKE PART. NATIONAL SURVEY ON THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH PROJECT PART-FINANCED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The courts yesterday upheld a request to remove the garnishee from Azzopardi's law firm's client accounts. Busietta requested the court to consider that the seizure would harm his legal practice, creating a serious prejudice to his family be- ing the sold breadwinner. "One requires the least of imagination on the difficulty this can cause to the breadwinner of a family of two chil- dren," Busietta said in his request. Busietta also said the freezing of his client's accounts was prevent- ing him from paying his firm's creditors, communications bills, employees' salaries, as well as hav- ing frozen clients' monies which could render him liable to charges of misappropriation. Busietta said he was not contend- ing Azzopardi Balzan's pretentions, but said the blanket procedure had negatively affected his own busi- ness interests. Azzopardi Balzan made the news in 2017 when she went public about her husband's alleged affair, by claiming on Facebook that Jason Azzopardi had been cheating on her with his "lover". Azzopardi Balzan, who was married to the MP for 18 years, had publicly expressed gratitude with those who let her know that Azzopardi had spent a weekend in London, allegedly with another woman. Azzopardi has denied cheating on his wife, with whom he is undergo- ing separation proceedings. Allaegedly, Azzopardi Balzan learnt of the affair after a final boarding call for passengers at the airport showed that Azzopardi and a woman had a flight to catch to London. "Thank you for telling me the truth about my cheating hus- band," Marica Azzopardi Balzan wrote. "Thanks for telling me that you saw my husband at the airport and that the PA was announcing last call for Jason Azzopardi and [name withheld]." The MP had denied the claims: "I have always said and believed per- sonal issues should remain person- al… But I can tell you that all that was written in that post is not true." Azzopardi, a Nationalist MP since 1998, was among a batch of MPs who in 2011 voted against Malta's divorce bill despite the electorate's "Yes" in a referendum. Lawyer says seizure would harm his practice and family MASSIMO COSTA A man who had been sentenced to 30 months in prison for having stolen horse-related items has had his sentence reduced to a 12-month term, suspended for four years, after the Appeals Court found he had been unjustly tried as a re- cidivist. The case dates back to the theft of items used in horse riding, the value of which was less than €3,000, from a shed in Marsaxlokk in 2008. In 2017, Raymond Galea had been found guilty of aggravated theft, after his fingerprint was found on a singular object in the crime scene – a photo of a race-winning horse owned by the owner of the farm. He was subsequently sentenced to 30 months in prison. Galea, however, appealed the case, and re- quested that his sentence be either turned into a not guilty verdict, or else be reduced to one which was more just. In Galea's appeal, the argument was made that while it could be said with certainty that the ob- ject in question had been touched by Galea, it could not as a consequence say that he was in- volved in the theft in question. It was also noted how Galea had, in his police statements, denied any involvement in the crime he was accused of. The appeal further argued that the prosecution had stopped short of proving, beyond any rea- sonable doubt, that Galea had been guilty of the crime. Referring to previous sentences, it em- phasised that the proof against the accused has to lead to one unequivocal conclusion – that the accused is guilty. Galea, in fact, argued that a single fingerprint was not enough to prove he was guilty, since no other proof of such guilt was found. His appeal also challenged the lower court's consideration that he was a recidivist, arguing that – while the prosecution had brought for- ward three previous sentences handed down to Galea, one of which was undated – it had failed to show any evidence that such sentences had been final and that they had not been appealed. Galea also argued that his sentence was exag- gerated and disproportionate in nature, espe- cially considering the time which had passed from the alleged crime to the sentencing, and the not very considerable value of the stolen objects. It also highlighted that the objective of a court sentence was to be reformative, and that previ- ous case law had underlined the importance of giving someone a second chance in life. The Court of Appeal considered these argu- ments and determined that, when it came to Galea's guilt regarding involvement in the theft, he had not explained how his fingerprint had ended up on the object in the farm, after he had stated that he had never entered the building. It referred to case law which made it clear that fingerprints were proof enough to return a guilty verdict, and declared that the fingerprint in it- self, in this case, was enough to convince it that Galea was guilty of theft. However, when it came to recidivism, the court said that the prosecution had failed to prove that his (Galea's) three previous sentences – which involved fines – had in fact been paid, and there- fore it had not in effect been shown that Galea was a recidivist. While the court acknowledged that one might not pay fines one is sentenced to pay to avoid being treated as a recidivist, it said that this was the way the law was. "The law is harsh, but it is the law," it said. Regarding the 30-month sentence given, the court considered that since then, Galea had added various other contraventions to his con- duct sheet. However, it did not result that he had spent any time in prison or been given any sus- pended sentence. The court, therefore, denied Galea's request to be released from the guilty charge for aggravated theft, but upheld his request to release him from the accusation of recidivism. It then reduced his sentence to one of 12 months imprisonment, suspended for four years. Judge Consuelo Scerri Herrera presided. Lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia appeared for the appellant. Thief's 30-month prison term reduced to suspended sentence on appeal JAMES DEBONO MORE than 50 objections have already been submitted object- ing to a planning application proposing the destruction a 17th century citrus grove to make way for six new town houses. The garden, which is surround- ed by a 400-year-old 3.5metre- high rubble garden wall, forms part of the grounds of an exist- ing townhouse in Triq Annibale Preca in Lija. The application also proposes alterations to the existing town- house, eight basement garages and swimming pools. The application foresees the excavation and removal of 19 citrus trees and one palm tree as well as flagstones, wellheads and other typical garden features. The local plan protects "open space enclaves in the UCAs of Attard, Balzan, Birkirkara, Gharghur, Lija, Mosta, Naxxar and Santa Venera". According to the local plan, the PA should not consider any development or redevelopment proposals that create "new independent resi- dential/non-residential units, in- cluding garages for the parking of vehicles" Six townhouses proposed instead of 17th century garden