Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1506214
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 23 AUGUST 2023 NEWS MATTHEW VELLA A court of law has thrown out an appeal by the directors of the defunct textile factory Leisure Clothing – Bin Han and Jia Liu – for an interim release from im- prisonment, pending the conclu- sion of further court cases. Madam Justice Audrey Demi- coli said there were no extreme circumstances that could validate such a request for release, despite the two defendants' allegation of a breach of fair hearing. Han and Jia were both jailed for six years in January 2023, after being convicted on appeal of traf- ficking and exploiting Vietnam- ese and Chinese employees at the Bulebel-based factory. They were found guilty of forcing employees to work long days with few to no breaks, in illegal working condi- tions. They had subsequently filed constitutional proceedings in March, claiming a breach of fair trial rights, arguing that because they had been jailed after their acquittal was overturned by the Court of Criminal Appeal, that court had not heard evidence or witnesses, nor had it sent the acts back to the Court of Magistrates for the evidence to be heard and evaluated there. In their claim made by law- yers Jason Azzopardi, Therese Comodini Cachia, Jose Herrera and Pio Valletta, the two Leisure Clothing directors had said that the same facts which had led to the criminal conviction, had been the subject of other proceedings before (now retired) Magistrate Carol Peralta. A copy of the summons and charges relating to that case was attached to the application, to- gether with a letter from the De- partment of Industrial and Em- ployment Relations in which the department declares that those proceedings had been decided. The application goes on to state that "some of the accusations are identical to those in the proceed- ings on the merits of this case and it is certain that all the accusa- tions arise from the same facts." Quoting a number of judge- ments issued by courts in Malta as well as by the European Court of Human Rights, which prohibit the trial of a second offence in so far as it arises from identical facts or facts which are substantially the same, the lawyers argued that their clients "should never have been brought to Court again let alone sentenced to three years' imprisonment each including the confiscation of all their assets." Leisure Clothing director Han Bin No temporary prison release for Leisure Clothing directors, court rules Court throws out request for interim release from prison for factory directors charged with human trafficking CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The man, whose lawyer Jason Azzopardi argues is a whistle- blower, says he became per- sonally acquainted with a ruse to grant driving licences to candidates who had failed their driving tests. Hassan, an interpreter by pro- fession, was a Labour Party ac- tivist who also was elected sec- retary of the local Balzan club in 2008. In 2015, Transport Malta em- ployed Hassan as a translator for candidates sitting for the written segment of the driving test. Five years later in 2020, as Hassan declared in a statement to the financial crimes inves- tigations department, a TM official, Philip Edrik Zammit, would mark out the candidates he had to ensure they pass the exam. Additionally, Hassan was told not to list these names in his invoice for payment. Hassan also claims that TM official Clint Mansueto – who oversaw the testing depart- ment – abusively clawed a per- centage of his own payment for translation services, as well as foisting on him forceful de- mands to buy him drinks and gifts. Hassan said Mansueto would list a number of Italian and Moroccan driving candidates, respectively seeking employ- ment in Maltese cab companies and public transport "by claim- ing they came under recom- mendation from the minister." Hassan said his complaints to the minister's aide Jesmond Zammit (at the time a consult- ant to transport minister Ian Borg) and OPM customer care official Sandro Craus, fell on deaf ears. "They laughed at his claims," his lawyers said. Hassan is also alleging that a number of Maltese citizens of foreign nationality, were not issued with a death certificate upon their demise, but instead were transferred onto other naturalised persons with the intention of having them vote for Labour. Hassan claims to know of thousands in cash payments paid out to obtain a Maltese identity card, whose number was arguably that of a deceased citizen. The Nationalist Party said the allegations should be immedi- ately investigated. "The allegations would mean that the Labour Party com- mitted electoral fraud," the PN said. "This is the result of a culture of corruption, abuse, and impunity that has been created and sustained by Jo- seph Muscat and Robert Abela, and which is destroying our de- mocracy." The PN said it expected the Electoral Commission, as well Commissioner of Police Ange- lo Gafà to carry out the neces- sary investigations. The PN had already filed complaints in the form of judi- cial protests, back in 2016 and 2018, complaining that Iden- tity Malta was not providing sufficient information to the Electoral Commission to verify the identities of those with the right to vote. Reacting to the PN's state- ment, the Labour Party defend- ed its position, saying the elec- toral commission is composed of representatives from both parties. It said the PN tries to either "invent or blame" in order to divert attention away from its own problems. Malta Public Transport state- ment Malta Public Transport disas- sociated itself from allegations of misconduct with respect to driving licence testing. "The company categorically denies that any attempt was made to influence the driving test pro- cess at any time for any of its employees," MPT said in a statement. It condemned any corrupt behaviour and insisted that it follows a very strict procedure when it comes to newly-re- cruited bus drivers. "All bus drivers joining the company, irrespective of whether they are Maltese, EU nationals or non-EU nationals, follow an intensive eight-week training programme before they are able to drive a bus in service with passengers. All bus drivers are also required to sit for an additional internal abil- ity test in order to be able to drive the company's vehicles. This is done over and above the legal requirements in order to ensure that its bus drivers are competent in driving a bus in a professional and safe manner." Whistleblower claims knowledge of abuse