Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1513442
4 NEWS 4 MATTHEW AGIUS magius@mediatoday.com.mt maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 20 DECEMBER 2023 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Altogether, the family bagged over €9,500 in win- ning prizes thanks to their winning receipts, with the prize being ten times the amount of their receipt. Apart from this lucky fami- ly, the other auspicious dou- ble-winners were two Capu- chin priests: one based in the Floriana Convent, who won €8,796 with two receipts in August alone; and the other from the Kalkara convent, with two receipts in Novem- ber for a prize of €2,005. Just as in the first half of the year, which included the parish priest of Birkirkara as one of the multiple winners, these 'religious' winners sug- gest they receive hundreds of receipts in donations from parishioners every month to submit to the VAT fiscal re- ceipt lottery. Another double-winner in the second half of the year was a Naxxar woman, who won €863. The prizes for the VAT lottery for receipts from Au- gust through to November, delivered over €220,000 in winning prizes to 111 lucky winners. The average prize was just over €2,200, and the highest prizes to breach the €10,000 mark was claimed by five winners. The maximum prize is capped at €11,647, clinched by two winners with a fiscal receipt of over €130. June returned the highest value of prizes at €64,000. Luqa family won more than €9,500 in prizes in five months New documentary sheds light on the 'modern pandemic' of solitude Fiscal receipts lottery A 29-year-old man from Borm- la has been charged with griev- ously injuring his ex-partner after she turned up outside his house while his current partner was inside. The man was arraigned be- fore magistrate Noel Bartolo on Tuesday, accused of inflict- ing grievous bodily harm on his ex-partner, who is also the mother of some of his children, as well as slightly injuring his 15-year-old niece at the police station and threatening both women. Inspector Christian Cauchi, prosecuting together with law- yer Alessia Schembri from the Office of the Attorney Gener- al, told the court that when the alleged victim had turned up at the police station on Sunday evening, her face had been cov- ered in blood. She had told the police that when she had gone to collect her children from the defendant's mother's house, she had noticed the other woman's car parked outside. After the victim banged on the front door, the man's mother had opened it and hit her in the head with her phone. The de- fendant then came to the door and struck her face with his el- bow, inflicting a cut to her lip which began to bleed profusely. The woman had then gone to the police station, accompanied by the man's niece, to file a re- port about the incident. Even- tually, however, the defendant also went to the police station, resulting in an altercation on the street outside, during which he allegedly hit his niece's head against the police station door several times. The defendant, who told the court he worked as a chef at two restaurants, pleaded not guilty to the charges in court. Defence lawyer Roberto Mon- talto said that Sunday's inci- dent had been caused by the victim's jealousy, positing that she had gone to his mother's residence when she wasn't sup- posed to and upon realising that the other woman was al- ready visiting, wanted to have her say in the matter, "nearly breaking down the front door and attacking his mother." Bail was also requested. The prosecution objected to the man being released from arrest, arguing that there was a risk of him contaminating the evidence or suborning the witnesses, who were yet to tes- tify. Inspector Cauchi also con- firmed that the police would al- so be charging the victim with causing slight bodily harm, but not under arrest. Montalto and lawyer Mat- thew Xuereb argued that the defendant could provide the court with guarantees that he would not approach witnesses or tamper with the evidence. The man also had a clean crim- inal record and regular em- ployment, and did not live in the same town as the woman. The defence explained that besides his two children with the victim, the defendant had two other children to maintain and that there had not been any other incidents in the four years since he and the victim had split up. The former cou- ple had agreed on maintenance and child visitation rights with- out going to court, added the lawyers. Having heard both sides' submissions on the matter, Magistrate Bartolo upheld the request for bail, releasing the defendant from arrest on a number of conditions, includ- ing that he sign a bail book three times a week. Bail was secured by a €1,500 deposit and a €3,500 personal guarantee. The court also issued a protec- tion order in favour of the al- leged victims and their families. Lawyers Franco Debono and Francesca Zarb are represent- ing the victim as parte civile in these proceedings. Father of four charged over assault on ex-partner and niece Victim had gone to collect her children from the defendant's mother's house before the incident A recently launched documen- tary sheds light on the "modern pandemic" that is solitude. The documentary by the Fac- ulty for Social Wellbeing titled 'Il-Ġerħa tas-Solitudni - it-tieni edizzjoni' depicts a number of human stories of people coming from a broad range of areas who have experienced solitude. The documentary was pro- duced by WE Media and team led by veteran journalist Peppi Azzopardi. People from the entertainment industry, a sportsperson, young people who participated in the first edition of Love Island, people who are on the poverty line and a mother whose son has recently been sent to prison for a crime committed over 13-years-ago all feature in the documentary. One of the hardest hitting sto- ries of the documentary is that of Maltese footballing veteran Carmel Busuttil. He speaks about the trauma he had to deal with following his retirement from the public sphere. Jonathan Abel, the popular radio presenter al- so speaks about how the tragic death of his father left him strug- gling with loneliness. Addressing the documentary's launch, producer Peppi Azzo- pardi said that authorities need to move from words to actions and proposed a new initiative that would see people 'adopting a prisoner'. One of the key researchers in the study on loneliness, Prof. Marilyn Clark, said during the launch, that the statistics clearly indicate the seriousness of the issue. Faculty dean Prof. Andrew Az- zopardi on the other hand said that notwithstanding the data is "as clear as crystal", it still beck- ons the direct tackling of the issue by policy makers and politicians. "We have done our bit and con- tinue to do so, but now the ball is in the court of the policy makers, politicians and service providers, they really need to wake up and smell the coffee," he said. MARIANNA CALLEJA mcalleja@mediatoday.com.mt