Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1523735
2 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 10 JULY 2024 2 MATTHEW AGIUS magius@mediatoday.com.mt A 25-year-old man who alleg- edly held a knife to the throat of a relative who had intervened to stop a five-on-one assault against him, has denied related charges. Orian Theuma Whitelaw, from Birgu, was arraigned under ar- rest before magistrate Lara Lan- franco on Tuesday, assisted by lawyer Ishmael Psaila. Psaila immediately contested the validity of the man's arrest, pointing out that charges against his client all dealt with contra- ventions - minor offences which are not arrestable. Police Inspector Kurt Farrugia explained to the court that the background to the incident was an ongoing feud between two families. As this was the third police report involving the two families, as well as the fact that a knife was allegedly used in this one, it was felt that arraignment under arrest was merited. The court was told that the defendant had been attacked by a group of five people and had threatened a member of the oth- er family, who had tried to inter- vene to stop the fight, by holding a knife to his throat, telling him to "keep out of it" or be killed. "As this time a weapon was al- so mentioned, the police felt it necessary to arraign him under arrest in order to protect the victim," explained the inspec- tor. Police officers went to arrest Theuma Whitelaw at his resi- dence in Birgu but did not find him there. The defendant had later turned himself in at a police station, the court was told. In reply to a question from Psaila, the inspector confirmed that there had been no arrest warrant, repeating that the po- lice feared that someone would get hurt, as matters were clearly escalating with the introduction of a weapon to the situation. Psaila dismissed this as an "in- flated story" and pointed out that the charges "are what they are" and that Theuma Whitelaw had not committed a hold-up or attempted to run away from the police. The defence lawyer also point- ed out that the weapon alleged- ly used in the incident was not seen on CCTV and neither had it been found. He remarked that it was odd that in a "five on one" fight only his client had ended up being charged, pointing out that the incident had taken place in a busy road in Marsaskala. "That a person goes to a police station to say a person put a knife to my neck is not grounds for ar- rest, because the police have to investigate first," submitted the lawyer. Psaila also pointed out that all the offences his client was being accused of committing were, in fact, contraventions. The magistrate asked the in- spector about the weapon and whether it had been found. Theuma White had gone to the police station on foot and with- out his mobile phone, said the inspector. "He didn't answer any questions.". When the police carried out a search of his home they did not find the knife in question, he added, adding that it could have easliy been hidden somewhere else. The court, whilst acknowledg- ing the prosecution's concerns, after hearing the submissions on the matter and in view of the rel- evant dispositions of the crimi- nal code, together with the fact that all the charges dealt with contraventions, declared the ar- rest invalid and ordered Theuma Whitelaw's release from custo- dy. The defendant then pleaded not guilty to the charges. Bail was not required as he was no longer under arrest, but the prosecu- tion requested a protection or- der for the alleged victims. The defence did not object to the request, which the court then proceeded to uphold, after explaining its implications and that of any potential breach to the defendant. Man denies using knife to fend off group assault, court declares arrest invalid The court heard that the background to the incident was an ongoing feud between two families IVAN Falzon will be stepping down as CEO of Infrastructure Malta and a replacement an- nounced in the coming days, sources at the Transport Minis- try said. The decision appears to have been taken by "mutual agreement" between Falzon and Transport Minister Chris Bonett a couple of weeks ago. Sources at IM told MaltaTo- day, Falzon is still working at the authority until his succes- sor is appointed and a hando- ver given. Officially no reason has been given for the change but sourc- es said the ministry is likely to adopt a different policy ap- proach, requiring a new direc- tion at the authority. When contacted Falzon de- clined to comment. Falzon was appointed CEO at IM in July 2022 by then trans- port minister Aaron Farrugia. He brought about a less con- frontational attitude at the roads authority than his prede- cessor Fredrick Azzopardi. On his watch, IM completed the airport flyover project and the reorganisation of the main road in St Andrew's, among others. The authority also car- ried out extensive works on a key link road in Mqabba that had been collapsing every few years in a bid to fix the problem once and for all. The authority also redrew the plans for the Msida Creek pro- ject, which is expected to start later this year after the tender was awarded and permits ob- tained from the Planning Au- thority. However, the latter project was thrust back into the lime- light recently after the Cham- ber of Architects came out with a last-minute alternative project that would see a wood- ed area in place of the proposed flyover and traffic re-routed to other junctions. In an interview on RTK103, Falzon described the plans put forward by the chamber as a "Photoshop exercise", claiming the proposed re-routing would not solve the traffic problem in the area. The government has come under fire of late for lack of co- ordination in roadworks, some being carried out by utility agencies carrying out mainte- nance or repair works. While IM has often taken the flak for these disruptions, the problem is government-wide. Prior to his appointment at IM, Falzon occupied the posts of CEO at the Water Servic- es Corporation and Mater Dei Hospital. Bonett was appointed trans- port minister in January 2024 when the Prime Minister re- shuffled his Cabinet. The previ- ous transport minister – Aaron Farrugia – was the only minis- ter to lose his place in Cabinet. Infrastructure Malta chief to step down KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Ivan Falzon (first from left) was appointed CEO at Infrastructure Malta by Aaron Farrugia (first from right) in 2022 but has now reached a mutual agreement with his current boss Chris Bonett (second from right), to step down Transport Ministry seeks new direction at roads agency as 'mutual agreement' paves way for change in CEO