Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1207647
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 5 FEBRUARY 2020 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 He was charged with murder, possession of a knife during the commission of a crime against the person, carrying a knife in public without a police permit, posses- sion of cocaine and breaching the peace. In a statement, the police said that the victim and the man had an altercation inside the St Pat- ricks football club bar, which spilled out onto the street. The stabbing happened outside on the corner with Triq is-Santwarju. Sources said Chetcuti was stabbed several times in the up- per torso and once, fatally, in the temple. She was operated upon immediately upon arrival at Ma- ter Dei Hospital but her condition deteriorated and she lost her bat- tle for life on Monday night, the police said. Borg had escaped from the scene of the crime but later gave him- self up at police headquarters in Floriana. Police said the man was treated for minor injuries in hos- pital and taken under arrest at the depot. Cocaine was found in his possession. In court this afternoon, Borg's lawyer Franco Debono entered a plea of not guilty. Bail was not re- quested, but the defence request- ed that a court-appointed psychi- atrist examine the accused. The request was upheld. The court ordered that the case be assigned according to law. Lawyer Marion Camilleri was also defence counsel. Inspector Kurt Zahra prosecuted. Defence requests a court- appointed psychiatrist examine the accused CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 But the woman did not survive the assault, ul- timately losing her battle with death on Monday night at Mater Dei Hospital. Borg, father of her two daughters, was charged with her murder yesterday afternoon, apart from being in possession of cocaine. He is pleading not guilty to the charges. Speaking to MaltaToday, a relative of Chetcuti's spoke fondly of the close relationship she had with his daughter. "My daughter was meant to have been with Chantelle that night, however, she ended up having to work the late shift. I shudder to think what would have happened… The cruellest thing in life is for a parent to have to bury their child." Chetcuti was described by her relative as a "love- ly, happy, down-to-earth woman. A good mother. Beautiful on the outside and the inside." But he said she and Borg had had a rocky relation- ship. "She tried to mend things despite the cheat- ing that went on in the relationship. But she simply couldn't. It was difficult to bear for her and so she told him enough. That was when he started stalking her." The sleepy village of Hal Safi has been left shaken by the murder, with neighbours of Chetcuti yester- day speaking to this newspaper about the tragic loss. A close neighbour recounted taking Chetcuti's daughters to school – on account of being close with the victim's mother. "As far as I was considered, they were just normal neighbours – I used to see both Chantelle and her ex-partner walking into her mother's house. Everything always seemed normal; I never had any trouble with anyone in the family." Another resident said she would see Chetcuti out and about. "I used to see her at the park with her daughters all the time, I never spoke to her, but I al- ways got the impression that she was kind-hearted," one resident said. Safi neighbours stunned by cruel fate of 34-year-old MATTHEW VELLA WOMEN'S rights activist Lara Dimitrijevic has called out the use of the term 'crime of passion' to describe the cold-blooded murder of Chantelle Chetcuti, 34. Chetcuti was killed by the es- tranged father of her two children, Justin Borg, who has since been arrested by the police. "I cannot take anymore gibberish from those that try to exculpate murderers. There was no passion in any of this. And shame on you for saying so. Women are victims of violence from men, men that continue to feel superior, entitled, privileged," Dimitrijevic, a lawyer, said on Facebook. "Am tired of hearing profession- als and authorities that are meant to protect women and prevent vi- olence claiming that men are vic- tims too! To them I ask once again, how many men have been mur- dered by women because women felt privileged and entitled? To them I ask, how many men have lived for months and even years in shelter because their husbands/ partners continue to harass even while being in shelter?" The Safi woman was stabbed on Sunday night at around 8:15pm and died yesterday in hospital. She was stabbed following an ar- gument outside a football club in Żabbar. The 34-year-old had to be op- erated upon immediately on ar- rival at Mater Dei Hospital but her condition deteriorated and lost her battle for life on Monday night, the police said. The police said the victim and the man had an altercation in- side the St Patricks FC bar, which spilled out onto the street. The stabbing happened outside on the corner with Triq is-Santwarju. Borg escaped from the scene of the crime but gave himself up at police headquarters in Floriana. Police said the man was treated for minor injuries in hospital and taken under arrest at the depot. Drugs were found on the man. "[I] spent most of the night think- ing of how we have blood on our hands," Dimitrijevic said. "Blood that we should have prevented, blood that should have never been shed. Children's lives that have been ruined for ever, left moth- erless because we have allowed a murderer to live and loath in his entitlement and privilege. Today, I add another name to the list of women that have been murdered by their loved ones. Femicide is the word that describes this. And am in pain, am angry, am lost and tired." Dimitrijevic also called out the Maltese authorities, saying they had to assume responsibility "for the bloodshed on [their] hands? When are you seriously going to fully understand that violence against women is killing women?" 'This is no crime of passion: this is femicide' Chantelle Chetcuti murder ACTIVISTS yesterday called for justice for victims of domestic violence at a protest outside Par- liament in Valletta. NGOs that work with vic- tims of domestic abuse called the protest following the mur- der of 34-year-old mother-of- two, Chantelle Chetcuti by her ex-partner. Earlier, the activists told Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lew- is they were losing hope with a system that was not adequately protecting women. "Women don't feel safe because even when they resort to author- ities, they still end up dead. We don't know what to tell victims anymore, whether to resort to the law courts or the police. We are losing hope," a spokesperson for SOAR, a domestic violence survivor service, said at a meet- ing between NGOs, Domestic Violence Commissioner Simone Azzopardi, the Justice Minister and Parliamentary Secretary Ro- sianne Cutajar. Cutajar held nothing back when discussing the murder. "It's not just an issue of legisla- tion. I attribute this to our men- tality, a Mediterranean men- tality, a misogynistic and sexist mentality," she said. Zammit Lewis said that a draft legislation will be tabled in parliament today in a bid to strengthen the power of tempo- rary protection orders. Speaking to MaltaToday after the meeting, Zammit Lewis de- scribed Chetcuti's murder as an "atrocious" one. "We did a lot in this sector but not enough. We met with [NGOs] not because of the pro- test they're organising but be- cause a lot of work still needs to be done. The biggest problem here is society, the way we think, the way men think. We are still a patriarchal society," he said. 'We are losing hope'