Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1492662
2 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 15 FEBRUARY 2023 2 MATTHEW AGIUS AN Mqabba FC footballer has been re- leased on bail after being accused of driv- ing his car at two Lija Athletic FC players on Sunday, The incident follows what is under- stood to be a post-match argument. Iven Zammit, 25, from Qormi was ar- raigned before magistrate Caroline Far- rugia Frendo on Tuesday, charged with attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm on Leon Muscat and Miguel Mi- callef, outside the Ta' Qali Centenary Stadium. Zammit is also accused of threatening the two Lija players with violence, dan- gerous and reckless driving and making insults or threats beyond the limits of provocation. Further charges of breach- ing the peace and using offensive and abusive language when exiting a sports ground. Defence lawyer Veronique Dalli ex- plained that Zammit had been red card- ed in the 73rd minute of Sunday's match between Mqabba and Lija and had been subjected to a great deal of verbal abuse from members of the public as he had walked off the pitch. The argument had continued after the game was over, said the lawyer, culmi- nating in "an unnecessary exchange of words that everyone could have done without." She said the allegation that Zammit had intentionally driven his car at the other men was "absolutely not true," adding that this could be con- firmed from the CCTV footage. Furthermore, the other players, through their lawyer Peter Fenech, had declared that they did not have an inter- est in taking the case forward. "The Attorney General did not give her consent for the case to be heard summarily so he will have to go through a compilation of evidence," added the lawyer. "He has been under arrest since Sunday. He is not the criminal type and has had to be hospitalised twice since then." Lawyer Peter Fenech, parte civile for both alleged victims, said that his cli- ents were prepared to forgive the ac- cused and renounce to all charges that depended on their consent. He did not object to bail. The prosecution did not object to bail, but insisted that the court must prevent the accused from speaking to witnesses and approaching their hometowns. Fenech assured the court that there were no planned future games involving the accused and the other two players. The court granted Zammit bail, im- posing a protection order in favour of the two other players. He was ordered to sign a bail book on a weekly basis and provide a deposit of €300 and personal guarantee of €10,000 by way of security. The Magistrate made it clear to the ac- cused that he could in no way contact or approach the other two players until the case was decided. Red-carded footballer denies having driven his car at rival players after match Iven Zammit (inset) who plays for Mqabba FC had been red-carded in the 73rd minute of Sunday's match between Mqabba FC and Lija Athletic FC MARIANNA CALLEJA THE police have substantial evi- dence to charge a number of for- mer senior officials in court, but are failing to do so, Repubblika President Robert Aquilina said. "The police corps have be- come a marketing company – car liveries, new uniforms. I see no objection to this, but the corps have remained the same, protecting a certain class of citizens, criminals and friends of friends," Aquilina said. The NGO president said the police have substantial evi- dence to charge former Deputy Commissioner Silvio Vallet- ta, former Chief of Staff Keith Schembri, and alleged Carua- na Galizia mastermind Yorgen Fenech. Example of this evidence, added Aquilina, is the cor- respondence between Keith Schembri and Yorgen Fenech which includes a copy of the presidential pardon offered by the State to Melvin Theuma. "They divulged police in- formation on the investiga- tions surrounding the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia," Aquilina said. "one of them is Lawrence Cutajar, and I chal- lenged the police commission- er to face journalists." Aquilina recalled how the state's key witness, Vince Mus- cat, testified under oath sever- al times about how Chris Car- dona was involved in Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder. The Police have not prose- cuted him in court again, he insisted, despite abundant ev- idence. "To the Commissioner: you are degrading not only your- self, but the Governing Body and our country," Aquilina said. Repubblika: Police refusing to charge former public officials with obstruction of justice Gozo Minister admits €9 million innovation hub only houses four companies THE Gozo Innovation Hub, a €9 million project which opened in 2019, has had a slug- gish start, with Clint Camilleri admitting that it only houses four companies. "The hub houses two IT companies, a software devel- opment company and another company working in financial services," the Gozo Minister said on TVM's Xtra on Mon- day. Nationalist Party MP Alex Borg, who was also on the pro- gramme, said the Gozo Inno- vation Hub was a good project promising new investment and employment security for Gozitans. "We realised otherwise a few years down the line," he add- ed. According to information that had been tabled in parlia- ment, the companies occupy less than a tenth of the avail- able office space in the hub that was once billed as 'a place where inspiration meets inno- vation'. The slow start had been blamed on the pandemic but a large part of the site in the Xewkija industrial estate has remained empty to this day. The GIH was built on the site of a disused milk processing plant and was intended to pro- vide space for technology and innovation companies want- ing to set up shop in Gozo. The project was part-financed by EU funds. But Camilleri insisted that Malta Enterprise had invested otherwise in Gozo to help ex- isting businesses. "Over the last three years, Malta Enterprise has helped 1,000 businessmen or entre- preneurs to expand their op- erations, and allocated no less than €16 million," Camilleri said. Gozo minister Clint Camilleri