Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1327573
9 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 13 JANUARY 2021 NEWS MATTHEW AGIUS A man has been charged with grievous- ly injuring a partygoer who allegedly at- tacked him with a broken bottle at a rave at a St. Julian's flat on Sunday. 23 year-old Iklin resident Damir Mi- losavljevic, from Serbia, was arraigned under arrest before magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech this afternoon, accused of grievously injuring his friend, 46 year- old Brian Caruana at Old College Street in St. Julian's on Sunday morning. The incident occurred at a flat in St. Ju- lian's where an afterparty was being held, following an open-air party in a field in Birzebbugia. Police suspect that large quantities of illegal drugs were used at the parties, which carried on through the night up till mid-morning on Sunday. Inspector Leeroy Balzan Engerer told the court that several eyewitnesses would be summoned, but added that he was not raising his hopes as to the insight they could provide. Defence lawyer Mario Mifsud clarified that the witnesses had all been "insensible and under the influence of drugs." Milosavljevic was also accused of posses- sion of ecstasy and breaching the peace. Inspector Balzan Engerer explained that the alleged victim, Caruana, was in hos- pital and would be arraigned for his part in the fight. This after the police inves- tigation allegedly found that it had been Caruana who had attacked Milosavljevic with a broken bottle. The accused pleaded not guilty and was released on bail against a deposit of €5000 and a personal guarantee of €5000. Lawyer Mario Mifsud appeared for Mi- losavljevic. Man charged over fight at rave afterparty following bottle attack A 26 year-old man from Msida has been charged with Sunday's stabbing at Triq ix-Xatt in Sliema. James Manfre was arraigned under arrest before Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech this afternoon, ac- cused of grievously injuring an 18 year old man from Senglea. Manfre had allegedly been drinking at an entertainment establishment late on Sunday night when he was ordered out of the club by security staff. Sources said that a fight with the bouncers erupted and his friend, the victim, had intervened to separate the parties. In the ensuing fracas, the vic- tim was stabbed with a large knife, the court was told. The accused, who claimed to have been drunk at the time of the incident, was also accused of disturbing the public peace and breaching bail con- ditions. Manfre had previously been charged with drug dealing in 2018. Defence lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia told the court their client would be pleading not guilty to the charges. They requested bail, sug- gesting bail supervision as a measure to keep the accused's behaviour in check. The court, however denied bail and ordered the man be remanded in cus- tody. Inspector Jessica Bezzina prosecut- ed. Drunken argument led to Sunday stabbing, court told The man had previously been arrested and charged with drug dealing in 2018 MATTHEW VELLA JUSTICE minister Edward Zam- mit Lewis has said that introduc- ing an unexplained wealth order in a new Proceeds of Crime law, will be a "second step" taken af- ter assessing the effectiveness of the new law. The proposed law, while en- joying the support of the PN, has been criticised for not in- cluding UWOs that make it harder for people with known criminal ties, to retain unex- plained wealth as long as they live. Nationalist MP Claudio Grech, who agrees that the law is a step in the right direction and will enjoy the Opposi- tion's support, said UWOs are essential if Malta is to achieve a quantum leap in the fight against corruption. "We can- not miss this window of op- portunity to do what's right and strengthen the arm of our financial crime agencies and empower them with strong in- struments to be effective and not spend their efforts in vain. The asset seizures over the years have been incredibly low, clearly showing that we have a crater not a small hole to ad- dress," Grech said. In a committee hearing in the House on the Proceeds of Crime Bill, Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi added that UWOs were essential in the fight against hard-core crim- inals who are officially unem- ployed and with substantial as- sets in their possession. Zammit Lewis, who is leading the bill, said Malta's tax and so- cial security laws already pro- vided clauses on unexplained wealth. But he admitted the the law was only as good as the in- stitutions tasked to enforce it. "We do not have a good history on the confiscation of assets, with the data showing that as- sets confiscate by the courts actually being used. So we're seeing UWOs as a second step on this law." The Proceeds of Crime Bill contains provisions for the con- fiscation of assets suspected of having been procured through criminal methods, without the need of a conviction. But the three cases in which this will be possible does not include any moment in which the owner of the assets is ac- tually alive or inside Malta: according to the Bill, non-con- viction confiscation will only be possible when a perpetrator absconds or is not in Malta; or when they die, whether during or without criminal proceed- ings hanging over them. That means that, unlike the UWOs used by Ireland for ex- ample, the police cannot seize assets which upon 'belief ev- idence' they suspect are pro- ceeds of crime and for which their owner must account for how they were obtained. Unexplained wealth orders to be considered only as 'second step' in new law Justice minister Edward Zammit Lewis