Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1524836
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 AUGUST 2024 LETTERS & LAW Letters to the Editor Law Report Another dry Olympics for Malta THIS is not meant to be a derogatory comment on the Maltese athletes who participated in the Paris Olympics but a reflective piece on the country's inability to achieve better. I was not expecting Malta to win its first ever medal at the Olympics but the inability to even qualify from heats or at least challenge for the top spots is what bothers me. The problem is the lack of a profes- sional sports set up in the country. No matter how hard they train and the sacrifices they put in to improve their performances, unless Maltese athletes are given all the backing necessary to become true professionals they will nev- er be able to compete at elite level. Promising athletes need to be en- couraged from a young age to embrace a sporting way of life that may require them to go and train and study in sport colleges abroad. Athletes need to compete more in international competitions on a more regular basis. T hey need to have professional coaches guiding them from a young age. It may be a tall order for a small country with a limited talent pool and no sports industry but when I see other small nations and countries competing and doing well – sometimes even win- ning medals – I just wonder whether the issue is also one of mind set. One other issue, which I cannot understand is how Malta chooses the sporting events it participates in at the Olympics. I am sure there are international cri- teria but why is it that Malta, despite having a relatively good water polo team and a national league that has seen some of Europe's top players rub shoulders with Maltese players, has never opted to take part in this sport at the Olympics? Noel Vella San Gwann Tal-Barrani roadworks THE roadworks to rejig three junc- tions between Tarxien and Fgura on the Tal-Barrani road have started over the past week or so. However, I'm not too sure whether Infrastructure Malta did consult local councils or take any feedback on board since it published its traffic-light-ridden plans on 1 July. Some of the proposed re-routing of traffic in the original plans made little sense since it meant this stretch of road will require more traffic lights to regulate cross-over traffic. I just hope the junction changes will not cause new bottlenecks. D. Curmi Birżebbuġa THE Prosecution may choose to pros- ecute an accused, if they breache the bail conditions, according to a ruling delivered by the Court of Criminal Appeal presided by Mr Justice Neville Camilleri in the case the Police vs Priv- iledge Mupimhidzi. Mupimhidzi was accused of breaching bail conditions, which were imposed last January. The Court was asked to revoke the bail and order the payment mentioned as guarantee. The Magistrates Court on 27 June 2024 found the appellant, Mupimhid- zi, guilty and ordered the confiscation of €400 and ordered the payment of €5,000. The Court rearrested the ap- pellant. Mupimhidzi appealed the judgment and asked the Court of Appeal to find him not guilty of the offence. From the evidence produced the ap- pellant was ordered to sign the bail book every day at the police station. The last time he signed the bail book was on 23 February 2024. The police tried to trace the appellant, since he was not living at the address he had given to Court. The appellant held that he suffers from mental health issues. The Court of Criminal Appeal quoted from a judgment delivered on 25 No- vember 2022 in the Police vs Joseph Tabone, wherein the court held that it should not disturb what the first court had considered in the facts of the case. The Court of Appeal should go through the evidence produced to see whether the considerations of the first court were reasonable and had a legal value. The Court moved on to look at the merits of the case. The appellant ar- gued that the prosecution should have filed an application in the case, since the request to revoke the bail took place in a separate case from that which granted bail. The First Court did not have jurisdiction to revoke the bail, but should have left it to the court in the other case. The Attorney General referred to the Police vs Charlot Calleja, which said the opposite. If the request for the revocation of bail is placed in a sepa- rate charge sheet, this does not make it null and void. It is the prosecution which decides which procedure to use. Article 579(2) of the Criminal Code provides that the breach of bail con- ditions is an offence on its own. The Defence argued that the judgment in the Police vs Kevin Gatt decided by the Constitutional Court does mention the breach of bail as a separate offence. This means that the procedure for the breach of bail does not necessarily have to be decided by the magistrate who authorised the bail. Therefore, the Court of Criminal Appeal held that the first court could have reached its deci- sion. Therefore, this ground of appeal was being rejected. The First Court ordered the confis- cation of the deposit and the person- al guarantee and awarded a one year prison sentence. The Court of Crim- inal Appeal should not consider this issue since the punishment was with- in the limits of the law. This was held in The Republic of Malta vs Kandemir Meryem Nilhum et, decided on 25 Au- gust 2005 and in the Police vs Daniel Aquilina, decided on 28 September 2017. The maximum prison sentence is two years imprisonment, and the court awarded half. The Court of Criminal Appeal held that this was justified in the circumstances. The Court was au- thorised to confiscate the deposit. Ar- ticle 579(3) of the Criminal Court al- lows the courts to revoke bail and the accused will be re-arrested. The Court then moved to reject the appeal and confirmed the first court's judgment. Breach of bail is a separate crime LAW REPORT MALCOLM MIFSUD Mifsud & Mifsud Advocates