Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1040165
24 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 17 OCTOBER 2018 MASSIMO COSTA THE police corps were given a total of €3.1 million in overtime and €4.2 million in extra duties payments in 2017. The figures for this year, so far, stand at €2.3 million for overtime, and €2.7 million in payments for duties considered extra. The information emerged from a reply by Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia to a parliamentary question asked by PN MP Beppe Fenech Adami. In its 2013 electoral manifesto, the Labour Party had promised to give "adequate" com- pensation for unpaid overtime to the police. Subsequently, in 2017 they were offered €8 million in compensation for around 15 years of unpaid overtime. The figures tabled in Parliament indicate that, in 2017, August was the month the police received the highest amount in over- time payments, at €490,000. January saw the least overtime paid, at €95,000. Meanwhile, up till now, September was the month (this year) with the most over- time paid – €411,000. Only €1,800 was paid in June 2018. In 2017 the highest payments in terms of extra duties came in August, with over €750,000. To date in 2018, February had the most payments, with €550,000. On Monday, two police unions signed a sector agreement with the government over their working conditions, which will see them getting a pay rise and a shorter work- ing week. Farrugia said the agreement will see police officers and constables rise one level on the public sector pay scale. mcosta@mediatoday.com.mt €3.1m overtime, €4.2m extra duty payments made to police in 2017 This year to date has seen €2.3 million in overtime and €2.7 million in extra duty payments made to the police corps MATTHEW AGIUS ANTHONY Pandolfino, 73, will be going to jail after the superior courts threw out his appeal not to go to prison after he was found guilty of possessing child pornog- raphy. A convicted child rapist, Pan- dolfino was contesting the five- year jail term handed down by the magistrates court in March last year. Pandolfino had been jailed for five years and fined €3,000 in March after terabytes of inde- cent and pornographic images of children were found on his hard drive. Prior to that, he had been jailed for 10 years in 2006 for raping, to- gether with his brother, two boys aged 10 and 11. In his appeal application, the appellant's lawyer, Roberto Mon- talto, had argued that there were procedural defects in the man's conviction and that the punish- ment meted out did not take into account his advanced age. The court observed that in cases heard by magistrates, where the accused pleads guilty before the Attorney General is consulted on whether proceedings are to be summary or not, the court can proceed to pass judgment if the punishment is not higher than 12 years imprisonment. The principal complaint was that the man's early admission had not been taken into consider- ation by the first court which had also not borne in mind the man's age and his health. But Judge Giovanni Grixti noted that early admission did not au- tomatically translate into a re- duction in sentence, observing that the first court had taken this into consideration anyway. In fact Pandolfino had not been handed down the maximum punishment. The court also noted that the age of the accused had no part in the calculation of punishment and therefore the court said it saw no reason to disturb the discre- tion used by the first court. Court rejects child rapist's appeal