Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1525069
4 gozotoday | FRIDAY • 9 AUGUST 2024 NEWS Did you know? Mgarr is situated on the southeastern shore of Gozo, and it is regularly connected to Cirkewwa on the main island of Malta mainly by ferry. The harbour is renowned for its lively bustle, where ferries, yachts, and fishing boats congregate to create a vibrant marine ambiance. It is believed that the name "Mgarr" comes from the Arabic word "mgar," meaning "port," reflecting its historical links to the sea. A baker from Qormi was handed a suspended sentence on Thurs- day after admitting to assaulting his estranged wife and her partner with a makeshift truncheon upon discovering them together in the woman's car in Attard. The 44-year-old man was ar- raigned under arrest before Mag- istrate Noel Bartolo on Thursday, charged with grievously injuring the other man and slightly injur- ing his estranged wife. He was al- so accused of damaging the car's wing mirror. Inspector Clayton Camilleri, prosecuting together with lawyer Frederico Barbaro Sant from the Office of the Attorney General, told the court that the male victim had reported having been assault- ed with a blunt weapon by the defendant on 6 August. Officers went to the scene and arrested the aggressor. The assaulted man was present in court, with stitches visible on his bruised and swollen face. Al- so present was the defendant's ex wife. The accused pleaded guilty to the charges, confirming his plea after Magistrate Noel Barto- lo warned him that the charges could be punished by imprison- ment. Making submissions on pun- ishment, defence lawyer Franco Debono described the incident as "a sad and unlucky episode" that had been triggered by the defendant finding his partner of 25 years with someone else. The lawyer suggested that the court impose a suspended sentence, de- scribing imprisonment as "not an ideal punishment in the circum- stances." The prosecution made joint submissions with lawyer Lennox Vella, who represented the wom- an as parte civile, recommend- ing a suspended sentence and a protection order in favour of the woman. Vella also requested a restrain- ing order in favour of the male victim "of maximum value and length." The court was told that the vic- tim's passenger side mirror had also been damaged during the as- sault. The defendant bound him- self in court to pay for the repairs. He was sentenced to imprison- ment for two years, suspended for four. The court also issued a protection order in favour of the woman and restraining order in favour of the male victim. The accused's name is not being published to protect the identity of the woman. Man admits to attacking estranged wife and her partner after seeing them together in her car IDENTITÀ has advised proper- ty owners to report any mail ad- dressed to unknown individuals at their properties to the police, and if foreigners are involved, to the state agency's compliance unit. Lawyer Jason Azzopardi re- cently claimed that around 18,000 ID cards have been is- sued based on fabricated doc- uments by Identità officials since 2015. This resulted in suspicions of false addresses being given as part of an ID cards scam. However, Identità noted var- ious reasons for such mail, in- cluding tenants not updating addresses or owners failing to submit the De-Registration Form. Property owners can report these cases to the nearest po- lice station and, if a foreigner is involved, inform Identità's Compliance Unit. Owners are reminded to use the De-Registration Form available on Identità's website to deregister foreign tenants who have vacated the prop- erty. Tenants must regularise their residence by submitting a Change of Address form, or risk having their Residence Permit revoked. From September 1, 2024, lease contracts for residence permit applications must be notarised. Identità said that all applications will be reviewed by various stakeholders to de- termine approval or rejection, based on the authenticity of the documents. Additionally, Identità urged service providers to verify cli- ent addresses to prevent fraud, stating that the agency is not liable for false information provided to businesses. Nationalist MP Albert Butt- igieg reported suspicions of ID card fraud at his Gżira property after receiving let- ters addressed to unknown individuals. He plans to file a police report and called for an investigation into the au- thenticity of ID cards. Similar complaints have emerged from other property owners. The letters, which were published pertained to Ep- ic, a mobile phone operator. Meanwhile, the company said in a statement: "As with other service providers across in- dustries, Epic implements a vetting process which requires customers to show proof of identity and follows standard industry procedures if such complaints occur." Last March, two Indian na- tionals were acquitted of sub- mitting forged lease docu- ments to Identità after being duped by an agent, Anil Kumar Ghanta, who is facing charges in India for related offenses. Identità continues to address such issues to uphold the in- tegrity of Malta's identity sys- tem. Property owners urged to report false mail amid allegations of ID card fraud Copies of mail intended for foreign nationals but actually delivered to Nationalist MP Albert Buttigieg's address