Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1494946
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 15 MARCH 2023 NEWS MARIANNA CALLEJA NATIONALIST Party leader Bernard Grech insists patients and the the public were the sole victims of the fraudulent Stew- ard hospitals deal in a direct jibe at former prime minister Joseph Muscat. "The money supplied for the fraudulent contract belongs to the people. Not only is the gov- ernment not the victim, but it is also solely responsible for the fraud and theft," Grech said on Tuesday outside the Office of the Prime Minister at Castille Square. Grech was joined by PN MPs Adrian Delia and Stephen Spi- teri as he rallied support ahead of Thursday's parliamentary dis- cussion on a motion condemning the deal and asking government to sue Steward. The PN has also called on people to protest out- side parliament on Thursday. On Monday, Joseph Muscat re- fused to apologise for the hospi- tals concession deal and argued that the government was the victim of fraud in comments to reporters. "When he took over the govern- ment, he mistook people's things for his... 'Malta tagħna lkoll' meant that he owned everything in Malta," Grech said. Government paid Steward ahead of time for non-existent investment, Adrian Delia noted. Reacting to Prime Minister Rob- ert Abela's comments on Sunday, Delia said the Prime Minister was aware of Konrad Mizzi's side agreement with Steward Health- care from August 2019 before it was reported by the media. "Three years ago, when he be- came prime minister, Abela was examining the paperwork... as a result, he was aware of the side agreements, and instead of op- posing them, defended them in court," Delia said. Stephen Spiteri said the deal put Malta in debt, both financially and in the health sector. PN insists public is the sole victim of the Steward hospitals deal Opposition leader Bernard Grech (left) flanked by Adrian Delia (centre) and Stephen Spiteri CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 She had later told the investigation that she had kept quiet about the rape, out of fear of not being believed. The victim had been bul- lied by her colleagues in the past and would not be taken seriously, he said. On another occasion, the victim had been in a police car with the defendant who had been driving. His hand would "slip" off the gear lever and on to her thigh, she said. Sev- eral incidents of groping and unwanted sex- ual attention were described. The inspector had requested an arrest war- rant, which was issued by a magistrate and the man was arrested at home in Bormla. When interrogated, the defendant claimed that the sexual encounters had been con- sensual. He later gave a second statement, admitting that he had sex with the victim on two occasions and that the sex had been against her will. The accused was assisted by a lawyer of his choosing during questioning. The judge asked the inspector whether the accused had received disclosure of the evidence against him. He had, during both questioning sessions, replied the inspector. Asked about what other officers had said, they had confirmed that the defendant had left at the time described by the victim, but none of them said that they had seen the abuse. They had urged her to file a report, he said. In a very loud cross-examination, Edward Gatt attempted to poke holes in the inspec- tor's account, suggesting that he had been contradicted by other witnesses who testi- fied during the compilation of evidence. In- spector Mercieca stuck to his guns. The lawyer questioned why Mercieca had investigated the case together with an in- spector from the Vice Squad and not the other inspector stationed at Msida. The wit- ness replied that this was because the victim had said she felt she would not be believed, having been bullied by the other inspector. Gatt suggested that there was an inter- est in concluding the investigation quickly. "You're an inspector in one of the districts concerned… Didn't you feel you had a slight conflict of interest?" "No. But if I didn't feel there was truth in the allegations, I would not have issued the charges, because at the end of the day it's my signature on them," replied Mercieca. Another witness was Inspector Sylvana Gafa from the police force's Victim Support Unit. She explained how in March 2018, Inspector Mercieca had informed her that a policewoman wished to make a report of sexual abuse and that he wanted her to be present. During that meeting, the policewoman had told them that she and the defendant had both been stationed at the Msida police station. The previous October, he had start- ed molesting her verbally and sexually, Gafa said. Raped inside the police station Gafa testified that the defendant had asked the victim to perform oral sex on him, lead- ing her into a secluded room, taking off his trousers and trying to force her to perform the sex act. The female officer had refused and resisted, at which point the man had pulled down her trousers and underwear and forced himself on her. The victim had warned him not to try this again, Gafa tes- tified. "He would tease and intimidate her in front of her other colleagues and as time passed, he became possessive," Gafa added. "During one night duty, at around 11pm, he had started playing with her hair and speaking in double entendres. He asked her to accompany him to Manoel Island after work and she had refused." The third officer on their watch had left work early because he had a court sitting the next day, she said, leaving the victim alone with the defendant. "He pressed her against the wall and tried to kiss her, he was physi- cally stronger than her. Then he raped her." After that incident, his behaviour towards her changed, and his harassment and intim- idation had increased. A second victim had been asked to accom- pany two male officers in the car to serve a summons on a known sex worker. But the other male officer was later dropped off, and the individual the officers had been seeking could not be found. The defendant had placed his hand on her thigh several times during the drive, despite her reminding him that he had a girlfriend, Gafa testified. The second victim was severely trauma- tised and is still going to therapy to this day. She had since left the police force, as she no longer felt comfortable at her workplace, Gafa said. "[Victim 2] was in a very bad shape. Very agitated, traumatised. Her behaviour showed this. [Victim 1] was a stronger char- acter and her demeanour was more com- posed." The second woman had explained to Gafa that she had spoken up after hearing that the perpetrator had other victims and hoped to prevent others from enduring the same abuse she had. "This episode affected her greatly," said the inspector, confirming that this was the reason why she had come forward. 'She didn't tell him she needed a massage' Under cross-examination by defence law- yer Edward Gatt, Gafa hit back at a sugges- tion that the victim had told the defendant that she needed a massage. "She didn't tell him she needed a massage," replied Gafa. "She said her back was hurting and he suggested that he give her a massage. She did nothing wrong in talking about her back pain. There was nothing sexual in- volved." The lawyer asked whether it appeared in- congruent for the woman to claim that her rapist was acting possessively. "No. Because this is not only what she said. After raping her, he would insult her and act possessively. This was in addition to the rape," Gafa re- plied. Answering a question from the judge, who asked whether the victim had screamed or tried to draw attention to the fact that she was being raped, Gafa said that her un- derstanding was that the victim had not screamed during the rape, even though an- other officer had been present in the police station, asleep. Gatt suggested that the second hadn't spo- ken up at first and had only reported being raped after the other victim had told her su- periors that she had been raped. "She reported him after finding out that he was doing the same things to the other officer…but it doesn't mean she wanted this to happen... It is not easy to report these things," Gafa replied. The court hearing continued until late and it was not possible to report all the testimo- ny given the print deadline. Lawyers Angele Vella and Darlene Grima are prosecuting on behalf of the Office of the Attorney General. The defendant is being represented by lawyers Edward Gatt and Franco Debono, while lawyers Lara Dimitriyevic and Steph- anie Caruana are appearing for the victims. The case continues this morning. Get the latest updates on maltatoday.com.mt. 'It is not easy to report these things'