Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1061063
NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 12 DECEMBER 2018 2 MATTHEW AGIUS THE Court of Criminal Appeal has confirmed a seven-year prison sentence handed to a grandmother who sexually abused her nine-year old grandson in 2009, who was also being sexually abused by his uncle at the same time. The woman had been jailed in 2017 after a court of magistrates found her guilty of defiling the mi- nor and participating in sexual acts with him. The grandmother had filed an appeal, insisting that she was inno- cent and that the child's father had forced him to lie about her as re- venge for not letting her daughter marry him. The father, a Libyan national, had been absent from his son's life for many years, and the child had been brought up by his maternal grandparents. When the father returned to Malta, he asked to be recognised as the natural father of the boy. The abuse came to light after the boy tried to kiss and touch his fa- ther's partner intimately. Asked by his father why he was acting that way, the boy explained that his un- cle and later his grandmother had done to him. The Court heard how the boy's uncle had showed him porno- graphic films and had raped him. The boy had later tried to mimic these actions with his grandmoth- er. The boy had said that his grand- mother had initially pushed him away and admonished him, but when he had later tried again she did not stop him. The boy added that the episodes with the grand- mother occurred various times, sometimes in the shower and in the bedroom, while there were occasions when the grandmother started the sexual acts. The Court also heard that the boy could not control his sexual urges, and needed medication in order to sleep. The situation had deteriorat- ed to the point where the father felt that he could no longer take care of him. Presiding Judge, Madame Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera, noted that the boy's uncle had admitted to the abuse in separate proceed- ings and that the child had told the court that sex with his grand- mother was not painful, unlike that with his uncle. This, said the court, confirmed the defilement. Finding no reason to reduce the punishment meted out by the first court, the judge confirmed the seven-year sentence against the woman and recommended that she be held in the forensic section of Mount Carmel hospital. It also is- sued a three-year protection order in favour of the boy. Appeals court confirms jail sentence for woman who raped her nine-year-old grandson JAMES DEBONO AN enforcement action that was set to take place against various illegalities on the Ta' Zgamardi site in Siggiewi, will be delayed over the owners' application to regularise the planning abuses. That means the Planning Authority will have to process the application before tak- ing direct action on the illegalities, which include the excavation of soil, the demo- lition and removal of several boundary walls surrounding the site, the change of use from an agricultural site to one used for parking heavy construction vehicles, and the storage of steel rods used in the pre-fabrication of concrete. The enforcement order was issued in November against Univest Enterprises, a construction company. The PA had ordered Univest to stop any further work and reinstate the field to its original state within 15 days of its notice, on pain of a daily fine. But two different sources told MaltaTo- day that works actually continued despite the enforcement order. Nationalist MEP candidate Michael Briguglio, who had originally reported the case to the PA last month after receiving complaints from residents, reported the continuing works to the PA's enforcement unit after the site was covered by a green net. He also re- ported that a tower crane was still present on the site. A PA spokesperson told MaltaToday that "no further excavation works were noted on the site". When asked what ac- tion had the PA actually taken after the expiry of the 15-day period, the spokes- person revealed that a sanctioning appli- cation had been submitted. The applica- tion has yet to be published on the PA's website. The site has a long history of planning enforcements, while the owner's attempts at regularising have always failed. In 2004, an enforcement order was issued against a permit-less stonewall and exca- vation works. But 18 years later the case is still listed as "pending direct action". The PA had already refused an application to regularise these works in 2006. In 2008, the PA issued another enforce- ment order against the "construction of a large warehouse, garages, stables and boundary walls without permit." Ten years later the case is listed as having been referred for "direct action vetting". Owner Epiphanio Mifsud appealed the enforce- ment order, and his appeal was rejected by the PA's appeals tribunal in 2011. Another application to sanction the illegalities was later dismissed by the PA and confirmed on appeal in 2013. Indeed, rules introduced in 2011 had stopped allowing the PA to regularise development outside development zones that took place after 2008. But these rules were reversed in the new planning laws of 2014 – which means developers can still apply to sanction illegalities outside devel- opment zones. Still, the conversion of agricultural land for industrial uses is not foreseen by the PA's rural policy, making such an approval highly unlikely. Siggiewi illegalities: developers play cat and mouse with PA MATTHEW AGIUS A delivery man has told a court that he earned just €10 per day from his job as he and another man were ar- raigned on charges related to the sale of cannabis. Abdiladeef Abdirahman Hassan, 22, of Hamrun and homeless Abdiwahab Ahmed Ali, 35, both from Somalia, appeared in the dock before magis- trate Audrey Demicoli yesterday. Police Inspector Matthew Galea, prosecuting, charged the men with offences relating to the aggravated possession and trafficking of canna- bis and cannabis resin, as well as with recidivism. The men were alleged to have sold drugs from a house in Ham- run. The men pleaded not guilty to the charges. Asked what their occupation was, Hassan said that he was unemployed and lived off government benefits, but an agitated Ali told the court that he "worked as a delivery man for €10 a day." If true, this would put him €547 below the monthly minimum wage. Lawyer Christopher Chircop, legal aid to the men, did not request bail at this stage, reserving that right for a later stage in proceedings. The court ordered the acts to be sent to the registrar for the case to be as- signed according to law. Man charged with cannabis trafficking says he lives on just €10 a day