Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1498223
2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 APRIL 2023 NEWS KARL AZZOPARDI INFORMATION tabled in parliament on Tuesday has revealed there are more than 1,700 pending magisterial in- quires, the investigations car- ried out on crimes by magis- trates and police. The figures indicate that there were 186 cases initiated in 2023 that are still pending, along with the 574 cases from 2022, 275 cases from 2021, and 172 cases from 2020 that are also still unresolved. Between 2010 and 2019, there were a total of 446 pending cases. Additionally, there are six cases pending since 2009, one since 2006, and four since 2005. Furthermore, there is one pending inquiry from each of the years 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1988, and 1979. Sources who spoke to this newspaper say the inquiry dat- ing back to 1979 relates to the unresolved political murder of 15-year-old Karin Grech. Speaking to the Times of Malta in 2022, Karin's broth- er Kevin Grech said the fam- ily had not been contacted by the inquiring magistrate for at least five years. He said he did not even know if a new one had been appointed or who he or she was, adding it was "shameful" that he had never been contacted. "There was and there should be a magis- terial inquiry but where is it?" he said. Karin Grech was murdered in December 1977 when she opened a parcel, that contained a letter-bomb sent to the family house. The 15-year-old opened the package in the presence of her 10-year-old brother, think- ing that the package was a gift. The target had been her fa- ther, a medical professional and strike-breaker at the time of the 1977 doctors' strike. The bomb exploded, and Ka- rin died half an hour later at St Luke's hospital due to severe burns on various parts of her body. At her funeral Mass, Arch- bishop Mikiel Gonzi described the murder as "the first terror- ist act in the country". On the same day the Grech family received the bomb, an- other bomb was also sent to doctor and Labour MP Paul Chetcuti Caruana, but it did not detonate. At the time of the murder, doctors at St Luke's hospital were taking industrial action following disagreement be- tween the government and the Medical Association of Malta. Doctors were locked out of the hospital during their strike, but Edwin Grech worked during the industrial dispute. Grech, then working as an ob- stetrics and gynaecology con- sultant in the UK, had agreed to return to Malta to head the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department. Despite there being no foren- sic evidence linking the bomb to the doctors' strike, the dis- pute is widely blamed for the horrific murder, as well as political elements within the medical profession that could be connected to the crime. In 2016, a civil court awarded €419,000 in compensation to the Grech family for the politi- cally motivated crime. Edwin Grech died in March 2023 at 94, never to see jus- tice done for the murder of his daughter. His nephew is PN leader Bernard Grech, who called his uncle a source of in- spiration and "a hero". kazzopardi@mediatoday.com.mt Over 1,700 magisterial inquiries remain pending, longest is Karin Grech murder CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The Malta Medicines Authority said such use represents off-la- bel use and currently places the availability of Ozempic for the in- dicated population at risk. "Increased demand for Ozem- pic has led to shortages which are expected to continue throughout 2023. While supply will continue to increase, it is uncertain when it will be sufficient to fully meet current demand," the MMA told pharmacists. "Delayed awareness of the out- of-stock situation may result in patients missing the required doses, which may have clinical consequences such as hypergly- caemia," the MMA said, telling pharmacists to switch patients to suitable alternatives and making clients aware of the international shortage. The supply shortage is not relat- ed to a quality defect of the prod- uct or a safety issue, but because it's the same drug as Novo Nor- disk's Wegovy weight-loss treat- ment, yet at a different dose. Doctors have been prescribing Ozempic off-label to patients desperate to try the most recent weight-loss treatment. While Ozempic is sold across Europe, Wegovy is yet to launch in most of the region and has also faced shortages in the US. "Novo Nordisk is working dili- gently to manage supply of Ozem- pic in order to minimise the im- pact of this increase in demand," the company said. "We sincerely apologise for this unfortunate sit- uation and any inconvenience it may cause." mvella@mediatoday.com.mt Pharmacists told to stop off-label use of weight- loss pill that should be administered to TYPE-2 diabetes sufferers The brown envelope (above) which contained the explosive device that killed Karin Grech (top)