Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1541881
THE Criminal Court on Friday sentenced a man to 19 years in prison and a €35,000 fine after he admitted to the importation and trafficking of cannabis grass valued at more than €263,000. Malaysian national Hew Jun Hui, 34, was found guilty of four drug-related charges. The charges included importing or causing the importation of cannabis grass, associating with others to traffic the drug, trafficking by sale or otherwise, and possession in circumstanc- es indicating it was not for his personal use. The case centred on the ar- rival of approximately 24 kilograms of cannabis grass brought into Malta from Du- bai. Customs Inspector Antho- ny Scerri testified that during a routine inspection at Luqa Air- port, a sniffer dog was alerted to two pieces of luggage. Hew subsequently collected the bags and was identified and ar- rested. Court-appointed expert Gil- bert Mercieca confirmed that the material analysed was cannabis, weighing a total of 23.915 kilos. The substance had an estimated market value of €263,065. The court noted that the sen- tence followed a joint recom- mendation submitted by the Attorney General and the de- fence on 13 November 2025. In determining the penalty, the court took into account the ac- cused's clean criminal record at the time of the offence and his admission before the filing of a Bill of Indictment, while observing that the guilty plea was not entered at the earliest stage. In addition to the custodial term, from which time spent in preventive custody was to be deducted, and the €35,000 fine, the court issued several ancil- lary orders. These included the confiscation in favour of the state of all property belonging to the convicted man, as well as the payment of €7,865.33 in expert and inquiry costs. Fail- ure to settle these costs within one year may have resulted in conversion into a further term of imprisonment. The court also ordered the destruction of the seized can- nabis once the judgment be- came final, unless the Attorney General declared within fifteen days that the drug was required for other criminal proceedings. Judge Consuelo Scerri Herre- ra presided over the case. 4 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 10 DECEMBER 2025 charged with involuntarily damag- tained. has taken place and CCTV footage NEWS ĦALEY XUEREB hxuereb@mediatoday.com.mt Momentum submits freedom of information request for details on proposed St George's Bay beach deck MOMENTUM has submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Lands Authority, citing an application by db to take over the public rock coastline in St George's Bay for the construc- tion of a beach deck. "Following an application by db to take over public rock coast- line in St George's Bay to dig up a swimming pool and construct a beach deck, Momentum's Matthew Agius has sent the fol- lowing FOI request to the Lands Authority," Momentum said on Tuesday morning. The application,, was submit- ted by db San Gorg Property Limited, Robert Debono, and the works consist of the dem- olition of existing structures (boathouses) and the proposed construction of a pool and deck, including the excavation of the necessary pool structure. Through the FOI request, Mo- mentum is seeking access to documents, studies and plans related to the proposal. They are requesting ownership agree- ments, leases, encroachment agreements, or any other title related to the area, which they state is presently a boathouse in St George's Bay. Momentum is requesting min- utes of meetings of the Board of Governors of the Lands Au- thority that relate to any conces- sion concerning the area, such as contracts, emphyteusis, and others. The party is also asking for any applications made for the site, receipt of payments made, cop- ies of any application made with the Lands Authority requesting permission to apply for develop- ment before the Planning Au- thority. Lastly, they seek any respons- es by the Lands Authority, an evaluation made as to the value of the site, full details of com- pensation paid to the previous tenant, any tender issues in re- lation to the site and names of all bidders. JULIANA ZAMMIT jzammit@mediatoday.com.mt The proposed site currently includes boathouses Court jails man for 19 years over €263,000 cannabis importation The case centred on the arrival of approximately 24 kilograms of cannabis grass brought into Malta from Dubai