Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1517369
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 13 MARCH 2024 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The court was asked to consider the de- fendant as a recidivist, although no pre- vious judgments against or featuring the defendant appear to be online. Bail was not requested at this stage. No details about the incident emerged during the very brief arraignment, but sources say that Dalli may have been high on cocaine at the time of the stab- bing. The man in the dock cut a distinctly odd figure, dressed in an oversize ma- roon smoking suit, open shirt and white trainers. When asked by the court registrar what he did for a living, the 43-year-old simply replied "employed." He had been arrested after police of- ficers had responded to a call for assis- tance at a residence in Triq San Tumas, Marsa at around 1:30pm on Saturday, according to an official statement is- sued by the police. Dalli, reportedly the victims' stepfa- ther, had entered the property and at- tacked the two sisters, aged 12 and 15, with a knife. The girls were taken by ambulance to Mater Dei hospital for treatment, where at least one of the girls needed to be treated in intensive care. The charges indicate that both girls suffered griev- ous injuries. A 14-year-old boy who had also been inside the property at the time of the at- tack was treated for shock. At the end of sitting, Dalli's relatives hugged and patted him on the back, before he was led away from the court- room, earning them a rebuke from the magistrate. Inspectors Wayne Camilleri and Ian Vella are prosecuting, assisted by law- yers Etienne Savona and Manuel Grech from the Office of the Attorney Gener- al. Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi, Nicholas Mifsud and Franco Debono are defence counsel. Dalli did not request bail, remanded in custody Ronald Dalli FINAL deeds of sale for resi- dential property amounted to 1,012 in February, a 7.8% in- crease when compared to Feb- ruary 2023, provisional data released by the NSO shows. The value of these deeds to- talled €262.7 million, repre- senting an increase of 5.4% when compared to the same month last year. The National Statistics Of- fice said that 940 of (or 92.9%) of these final deeds of sale involved individual buyers (households) with companies accounting for virtually all re- maining deeds. The value of the deeds involv- ing individual buyers amount- ed to €205.9 million, equiva- lent to 78.4% of the total value. The NSO data shows that the highest numbers of final deeds of sale were recorded in the Northern Harbour and the Northern districts, with totals of 285 and 186 deeds, respec- tively. On the other hand, the lowest numbers were regis- tered in the Western, and the Gozo districts with 97 and 137 deeds, respectively. The highest numbers of final deeds of sale were recorded in St Paul's Bay (85), Mellieħa (44) and Birkirkara (42). The sum of agreements recorded in these localities correspond- ed to 16.9% of the total final deeds of sale registered during February 2024. The number of properties transacted in the final deeds of sale was equivalent to 1,151. Apartments (405) and garag- es (266) accounted for the larg- est shares, at 35.2% and 23.1%, respectively. Promise of sale agreements The NSO also released pro- visional data related to the number of promise of sale agreements reached in Febru- ary, which showed that 1,164 such agreements relating to residential property were reg- istered. This is equivalent to an increase of 12.7% over the same period in 2023. Individual potential buyers accounted for 1,065 (or 91.5%) of these agreements, while the rest mainly involved compa- nies. The largest number of prom- ise of sale agreements relat- ed to residential properties were registered in the North- ern Harbour district with 330 agreements, followed by the Northern district with 237 agreements. On the oth- er hand, the lowest figures of promise of sale agreements were noted in the Gozo, and the Western districts, at 107 and 109 agreements, respec- tively. The highest numbers of promise of sale agreements were recorded in St Paul's Bay (93), Birkirkara (59) and Fgura (55). The sum of agreements recorded in these localities corresponded to 17.8% of the total promise of sale agree- ments registered during Feb- ruary. Property deeds of sale up by 7.8% in February Data released by the National Statistics Office shows that property deeds of sale and promise of sale agreements on residential properties increase in February 2024 Final deeds of sale for residential property amounted to 1,012 in February... The value of these deeds totalled €262.7 million.