Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1185664
13 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 17 NOVEMBER 2019 NEWS An excellent opportunity has arisen for a catering company to take over the catering concession at a large complex with indoor and outdoor amenities and housing a conference facility for small to medium sized meetings and presentations. Our client operates 7 days a week and provides an opportunity for an experienced catering provider to optimise these facilities for maximum benefit. At this stage, interested parties should submit a letter of interest together with a company or personal profile listing their experience in catering and facility management. Kindly send your LOI addressed to a.warrington@media-consulta.com.mt or by post to: Media Consulta Malta Ltd. Media Consulta House 150, Psaila Street, Birkirkara BKR 9077 T. 2206 0100 LOIs should reach our offices by not later than 24th November 2019 EXPRESSION of INTEREST RESIDENTS of St Julian's and Sliema are up in arms over a proposed tourist ferry berth in Bal- luta Bay, which they claim is of benefit to private interests. The ferry berth in the vicinity of the St Julian's waterpolo pitch is still at planning stage and will be used by a recently announced hop-on, hop- off ferry run by the Fortina Group. Residents were yesterday joined by the mayors of St Julians and Sliema, and 10 NGOs, as they rallied against the plans. "This is just the tip of the iceberg," one Sliema resident, Joanne Pace, told MaltaToday. "This ferry is not intended for people to go shopping with, it is for the Zammit Tabona's to make money." Speaking on behalf of the NGOs, Moviment Graffitti's Andre Callus told assembled residents that the project will "change the bay completely" leading to intensive commercialisation. "Private interests completely took over the public inter- est. There are already no spaces which are not commercialised and now they want to take over the sea too," Callus said. He warned of the environmental damage the project would cause, saying the pollution it would produce would be "potentially devastat- ing" to marine ecosystems. The groups said they feared Balluta would end up like the Ferries in Sliema, where the same company runs cruises. "Don't try to fool us that it's a transport move, it is only for tourists and profit for Fortina," Cal- lus said. Claire Bonello, a lawyer who heads Futur Am- bjent Wieħed, said people were objecting to the operation of a ferry from the middle of a swim- ming bay. "There are issues of safety, there are issues of commercial take-up, there are issues of pollu- tion," she insisted. Residents up in arms over proposed Balluta Bay ferry landing MATTHEW AGIUS A man who was left disa- bled after a brawl has lost his claim for compensa- tion, after a court ruled that it was not the defend- ant who pummelled his head. The fight over a girl took place inside the Ra- bat Labour Party club in 2013 where Ivan Attard was drinking with his girl- friend, friends and family members. Attard had filed a lawsuit demanding compensation for a permanent disability he suffered as a result of a beating he received. Attard was unable to re- call much of the events of the day, due to blows to the head which he re- ceived, knocking him un- conscious. He recalled being lifted up and slammed against a cigarette machine, while being repeatedly punched in the head. Attard denied any aggression on his part. For a time, Attard had been in danger of dying, having suffered a cranial haemorrhage. He spent two months in hospital and had also had to deal with a 41% permanent dis- ability. But neither Attard, nor family members who testi- fied identified the defend- ant, Kenneth Micallef as having delivered the blows. Police Inspector Sarah Magri testified that the owners of the bar had ini- tially told her that Attard had been beaten by Mi- callef. They had told her that Micallef had used his legs to hold Attard's head down as he pummelled it. This version had been confirmed under oath dur- ing the inquiry, but during the compilation of evi- dence, they had changed their tune, saying they had been scared of the police when initially giving evi- dence. The inspector also said that the bar owners knew Micallef well and were on good terms with him. Micallef, a bouncer, had also taken the stand, tell- ing the court that Attard had smashed a bottle and tried to attack him with it, following an argument over a girl. He insisted that he had only knocked the broken bottle out of Attard's hand and pushed the victim over a coffee table. The court, presided by madam justice Miriam Hayman, observed that there were conflicting ver- sions as to the dynamics of the incident. It was noted that crimi- nal steps had been taken against Micallef who had been cleared of the charges against him. The court un- derlined that civil cases are separate and distinct from criminal ones, both with regards to the court proce- dure adopted and the level of proof required. But from the testimony it heard, the court said it was clear that the fight had started because of the be- haviour of a woman who went to flirt with some men. However, Attard had given conflicting versions, first saying that it was Micallef who threw him against the cigarette ma- chine and then saying that he didn't know who had done this to him. There were doubts, too, about the sequence of events described, which also changed. The court also noted that the investigating police inspector said that it had only been two people who indicated the defendant as having delivered blows to the man's head, but later changed their versions. The defendant had con- sistently said that he had acted in self-defence when Attard had attacked him with a broken bottle and pushed him. It had not been proven, even on the basis of prob- ability, that it had been a blow from the defendant that had caused the per- manent disability, said the judge, pointing out that the witness testimony had established that the fight had continued outside the club where Micallef was not even present. Ruling that there was no connection between the actions of the defendant and the permanent dam- age to Attard's health, the court dismissed the suit with costs to be borne by the plaintiff. Lawyers Stephanie Ab- ela and Vince Micallef ap- peared for the defendant Kenneth Micallef. Man left disabled after party club brawl loses compensation claim