Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1168782
4 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 18 SEPTEMBER 2019 MATTHEW AGIUS TWO schoolbus drivers have denied charges of hav- ing engaged in sexual activi- ties with an underage girl, 15, whom they allegedly used to drive to school. Magistrate Neville Camill- eri heard how Indian na- tionals Nidhin Eldhose, 32, and Sarath Babu Kongadan, 28, had befriended the mi- nor on social media before the alleged incident came to light when the girl reportedly went to hospital. A police re- port was subsequently filed by the girl's parents. The two men were ar- raigned separately on Tues- day, both pleading not guilty to sex with an underage per- son, defilement of the minor as well as producing and pos- sessing child pornography and misusing telecommuni- cations technology. Defence lawyer Simon Micallef Stafrace asked the court for bail during Eld- hose's arraignment, arguing that so far there was no evi- dence other than the police report. "We know nothing else. It is still too early to deny bail. It all depends on the testimo- ny of the minor," suggested the lawyer. However prosecuting in- spectors John Spiteri and Joseph Xerri objected to the request in view of the nature and gravity of the charges as well as the fact that the man was a flight risk. There was no extradition treaty with the accused's country of ori- gin, he explained. The danger of the accused tampering with evidence was "clear and manifest," Inspec- tor Spiteri said. Magistrate Camilleri reject- ed the bail request, but urged the prosecution to summon its civilian witnesses at the first opportunity. No request for bail was made during the arraign- ment of the second accused, Kongadan, who was also re- manded in custody. The court rejected a de- fence request for a ban on the publication of the names of the accused, but upheld one for the name of the child involved. Lawyer Joseph Calleja ap- peared parte civile. Schoolbus drivers accused of sex with minor DAVID HUDSON THE Commissioner for Standards in Public Life, George Hyzler, said that there is no basis to investigate Keith Schembri's loan to the Times's publisher Progress Press. In 2012, Schembri had granted a loan of €1.5 million via Kasco Ltd—of which he was a director—to Allied Newspapers and Progress Press to aid them in paying back substantial monies they owed to the same company. Former Alternattiva Demokratika lead- er Arnold Cassola recently wrote to Hy- zler, asking him to investigate this on the basis that it breached the Code of Ethics since Schembri is now the Prime Minis- ter's Chief of Staff. "If persons occupying high and impor- tant offices can be involved in such loan operations, our democracy is threat- ened," he had written. Hyzler returned with a dismissal, saying that there was nothing he could do since such a loan was granted back in 2012. "I am precluded by law from investi- gating anything that happened before 30 October 2018, the date on which the Standards in Public Life Act came into force," Hyzler wrote to Cassola. Despite this curtailment to his office's powers, Hyzler still wrote a length reply to Cassola, explaining how Schembri had even provided his loan to The Times's publisher before he became the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff. "While I do believe that it's a deficiency in our laws that persons of trust are not obliged to make a declaration of assets in the same way that parliamentary sec- retaries and ministers do, Schembri had publicly declared his loan to the biggest private media house in the country, even if this occurred late," Hyzler said. Schembri's declaration came in May 2016, three years after the loan was granted. His declaration was in response to The Times reports which had said that Kasco was a loss-making company and that it had funded the Labour Party's 2013 po- litical campaign, which he categorically denied. Hylzer declared in his letter to Cassola that he had even undertaken research alongside the Malta Business Registry which determined that Schembri had resigned from Kasco on 15 March 2013, even though he remained an ultimate beneficiary owner. Commissioner for Standards can't investigate Keith Schembri's €1.5 million loan to The Times George Hyzler is precluded by law from investigating anything that happened before 30 October 2018 Hyzler still wrote a length reply to Cassola, explaining how Schembri had even provided his loan to The Times's publisher before he became the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff