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5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 26 JUNE 2019 NEWS JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Authority has approved six new "building services" areas in the Danish Village complex of Mellieha, despite clear commitments in a previous permit that only the existing infra- structure will be used to cater for the enlarged tourist village. The controversial 30-bungalow extension, opposed by environmental NGOs, was ap- proved in 2007 with a full permit issued in 2016. The new service buildings are required for the heating and cooling of these bungalows. The applicant suggests that locating the ser- vices on the rooftops of the bungalows or in one single plant would have had a more nega- tive impact on aesthetics. But the PA's case officer's report for the latest extension reveals that throughout the process- ing of the application approved in 2016, the architect was asked to indicate the proposed location of the services on the proposed plans, to ensure they do not get located on the roof of the buildings and be visible from public areas. "The architect [said] the existing infrastruc- ture will be used and as is the case with the existing bungalows, no services will be located at roof level," the case officer said. A condition was imposed to ensure that no services are to be located on the roof of the building and that any services within the com- plex shall not be visible from private and pub- lic open spaces. But after the permit was approved, the appli- cant proposed six new service clusters of some 29 sq.m in area, going as high as 3.5m, which will be screened with wooden louvers. The PA's case officer objected to the latest extension, noting that the structures involve an additional land take-up inside an area where various efforts to limit development have been considered. Approval may also lead to the erection of further service units for the other existing units. But the PA's planning commission overruled the case officer, saying the services buildings were being proposed in an area already com- mitted for development due to the approval of bungalows. The Environment and Resources Authority did not object to the latest exten- sion. PA approves more development at Danish village MATTHEW AGIUS A mother of five who is charged alongside drug traf- ficking suspect Jordan Azzo- pardi is facing new charges after allegedly attempting to suborn a potential witness. The compilation of evidence against the Azzopardi and his partner continued yesterday with prosecuting police In- spector Mark Anthony Mer- cieca, telling the court that after the events during the pre- vious sitting, which resulted in the woman's re-arrest, investi- gations led to the fresh charge of subornation of a witness being brought against her. She pleaded not guilty. The woman's name cannot be published on court order. The woman and Azzopardi had exchanged two calls while in custody, the first on 6 June when the two had named a per- son who was to be approached. The following day, the woman had informed her partner that the person in question had been approached. The police had arrested a third party who was to ap- proach Luke Vella, a former customer of the drug dealer, who was due to testify in the compilation. Azzopardi's partner had writ- ten down the questions to be put to Vella on a scrap of paper. The questions were read out in court from the witness stand by Inspector Mercieca. 'Do you have WhatsApp so I may contact you since it's safer that way?' wrote the woman. 'What did you spend at Pi- età?' with reference to the Pietà property raided by the police before Azzopardi's arrest, and 'If he gives you €10,000 will you not testify?' The three questions had al- legedly been scribbled on a paper by Azzopardi's partner with the intention of them be- ing forwarded by a third party to Luke Vella. Vella had testi- fied in the compilation of evi- dence against the pair on 13 June. "I'm speaking out because I've had enough. They've been threatening me even up until last week," the man had said under oath. The revelation had landed the woman back in custody and subject to new police investiga- tions, despite her protestation that she had been receiving threatening phone calls, too. The court heard more evi- dence regarding the alleged drug dealing operation from a young man who had been ar- rested during a police raid at a Marsa farmhouse and who is currently serving a prison sen- tence. He explained how he had planned to convert a Pietà property, formerly belonging to his grandmother, into an Air BnB listing. His partner on the project was Luke Vella. But the men's plans were thrown into disar- ray when Azzopardi entered the picture and they were all arrested. Lee Jonathan Borg said he had been approached by Azzopardi just a week before his arrest, with Azzopardi wanting to rent the Pieta residence for a person who he said was "homeless". The two agreed on a monthly rent of €700, Borg said, add- ing that he had asked his aunt to collect the payments from Azzopardi. Borg insisted that he had no idea of what went on inside the place. Borg's aunt also took the witness stand. She said her nephew had phoned her from prison and told her to meet someone to collect rent. "I met him in Gzira square about three times. Sometimes he would come with a girl." She pointed out Azzopardi but not his girlfriend. "It was dark," she explained. The payments she collected were "€150, €100, one time €40". After she had heard about the raid at the Pietà building on the news, she said the requests had stopped. The compilation of evidence continues next month. Inspec- tors Mark Anthony Mercieca and Justine Grech prosecuted. Lawyer Anne Marie Cutajar appeared on behalf of the Of- fice of the Attorney General. Lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia were counsel to both accused. 'If he gives you €10,000 will you not testify?' Jordan Azzopardi's girlfriend accused of trying to bribe witness

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