Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1482086
NEWS 5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 19 OCTOBER 2022 Call for applications for those interested in becoming a certied Doping Control Ofcer, Chaperone or Blood Collection Ofcer within the Authority of Integrity in Maltese Sport. The Authority for Integrity in Maltese Sport (AIMS) is issuing a call for individuals interested to pursue an employment opportunity on a casual basis and within the Authority as Doping Control Ofcer, Chaperone or Blood Collection Ofcer on successful completion of a training and accreditation course. A three whole day training course is scheduled between the 10th and 12th of November 2022 leading to certication, accreditation, licensing and eventual recruitment as a DCO, Chaperone or Blood Collection Ofcer. Tuition fee of €100 applies to the selected course participants. An application form which can be downloaded from: https://tinyurl.com/3v5ukf42 accompanied by a detailed Curriculum Vitae (with copies of qualications) and a certicate of conduct (issued by the Police not earlier than 1st September 2022), will be received by email on antidoping@gov.mt until noon of 28th October 2022. Successful candidates will be asked for i. signature of a non- disclosure agreement due to the sensitivity and condentiality of the data to be processed, which will extend beyond the contract duration and ii. signature of a Code of Conduct. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. Please note that only successful candidates will be contacted. Police brutality case: whistleblower testifies, victim suffered from schizophrenia CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The three officers, all of whom were stationed at the Hamrun police station, are pleading not guilty to charges of kidnapping, abuse of authority, illegal arrest, holding a person against his will, two counts of attempted grievous bodily harm and two counts of causing slight injury, the bodily harm charges being aggravated by racial motives. Brincat was also accused of abusing his authority, causing a person to fear violence, as well as carrying arms proper and possession of a prohibited weapon. Testifying, Dr. Claire Axi- ak from the Floriana Mental Health Clinic said the Soma- li victim had been treated at Mount Carmel Hospital for a long period of time and was lat- er sent to prison. "He's a person with an anti- social personality, whose be- haviour can be very challeng- ing and who makes threats. He doesn't obey the rules and has a tendency to escalate situations, especially after taking alcohol, cocaine and cannabis," the doc- tor said. The victim had last been ad- mitted to Mt Carmel on 15 September. "When the police brought him in, he was wearing a coat in which a bottle of alco- hol and a pair of scissors were found… he has a tendency to be psychotic even when not under the influence. I know him from the Forensic Unit." She said the victim suffered from schizophrenia, as well as antisocial personality disorder, and indulged in alcohol and substance abuse. Discharged because there were no grounds for section- ing him at MCH, Axiak said the victim had also threatened hos- pital staff, once threatening to kill the doctor treating him. "He would sometimes beg for mon- ey from the Imam and then use it on drugs... Everyone is afraid of him," the doctor said. Reading from records dated September, she noted that the man had told a junior doctor: "You and Dr. Zahra are going to die." Axiak confirmed, at defence lawyer Franco Debono's re- quest, that he was considered "a dangerous person". Magistrate Joseph Mifsud in- terrupted questioning, pointing out that the charges dealt with matters unconnected to the vic- tim's mental health. Answering to lawyer Ve- ronique Dalli, the doctor said the victim was a long-time co- caine user, whose aggression – a personality disorder – was aggravated by substance abuse. "He has an underlying schizoaf- fective disorder, which meant that even if not under the influ- ence, he would have incidents of aggression." Living rough, the victim had been expelled from the Marsa open centre after resident fam- ilies expressed fears about his behaviour. The witness said the victim's aggression would escalate when confronted by authority. The court upheld a request by the Attorney General's office to appoint a medical expert to as- certain whether the man was fit to testify. Magistrate Mifsud highlighted the fact that the most important issue was not the man's medical history – although that may be a defence in future – but the evidence needed now to decide whether the charges against him are prima facie justified. "Even if a person has certain medical conditions in our society, he en- joys certain protection. "My policy is that you shouldn't beat people up and neither should you suffer beat- ings... We are trying to see whether there were grounds for arrest. Then you take the per- son where he needs to be tak- en," Magistrate Mifsud said. Sergeant who reported abuse Another witness, PS Alexan- der Gauci, stationed at Hamrun Police station took the stand. "On 3 October I received a call at around 11pm from a col- league… he said that yester- day he had been on duty at the Victor Tedesco stadium, when [several police officers] had opened up to him about things going on behind his back in the shift, but didn't elaborate." Later, during a night watch, Gauci was told that a female po- lice constable had been on duty with Brincat and Mifsud Grech. They had told her to go on pa- trol with her that night and had gone to Triq is-Serkin in Marsa. "When they arrived there, there were some civilians wait- ing for them, who pointed out a dark-skinned man for collec- tion. He was duly taken into the police car. They went to Qormi Valley near Gaffarena's petrol station. I asked her to take me there, as I didn't even know where this valley was. "She explained to me that this person had been beaten up, knocked unconscious and had been repeatedly kicked in the head and ribs, before be- ing left at the scene and aban- doned there... While we were discussing this, another officer piped up and said that there were times when they would go to Marsa and see a black man sleeping rough and would wake him up and slap him. Occasion- ally a taser would be used too." "I spoke to [another officer], who told me about another in- cident… he had been driving in a police car making contact via radio with PC437, who had told him to go near a gate in Mar- sa. There they indicated a dark skinned person. Then the same thing happened, they picked him up in the police car and took him to the same valley. There they beat the man up. He was punched in the face. When he fell to the floor and tried to stop PC437, the officer picked up a rock from the ground and threw it at this person's head, and then they left the scene." The person who informed him had been so concerned that he had gone back to the scene to try and find this man and treat him, said the witness. Later, the witness had ap- proached his superiors and ex- plained what happened. This got the ball rolling for an inter- nal investigation. The witness was ordered to report the next day at the office of professional standards at po- lice HQ, he said. The magistrate noted with satisfaction that 13 witnesses had testified so far in this com- pilation of evidence. Before ad- journing the case to Thursday, magistrate MIfsud informed the parties that he "already had an idea on what to do with re- gards to bail," urging the law- yers not to make lengthy sub- missions on this issue. Suspended police officers Jurgen Falzon, Rica Mifsud Grech and Luca Brincat stand charged with abducting and beating foreigners