Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/163731
14 News maltatoday, SUNDAY, 1 SEPTEMBER 2013 Police Board: Taliana failed to sound the alarm on true thief HOME AFFAIRS MINISTRY PUBLISHES FINDINGS OF INDEPENDENT POLICE BOARD INQUIRY MIRIAM DALLI POLICE Commissioner Peter Paul Zammit will be taking action against Police Inspector Elton Taliana after an inquiry found him responsible for the blunder that led to two individuals being arrested for a crime committed by one person. Now that the Police Board inquiry has finalised its 13-page report, the police said disciplinary or criminal action would be taken as recommended by the Police Board. The Police Commissioner was also in the process of seeking the Attorney General's advice as to whether Taliana's actions warranted criminal action to be taken against him. The case will now appear before the Permanent Disciplinary Board within the Ministry for Home Affairs, which will determine what disciplinary action should be taken. "This shortcoming is being considered as a grievous one which could also lead to the dismissal of an official from the Police Corps," said the Police Corps. It also said the Police Commissioner had the power to suspend the official from his duties as soon as he was notified of the charges. The 13-page report was also passed on to Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia, who decided it should be published. Darryl Luke Borg, 27, of Birkirkara, was arraigned on 7 August and accused of committing a hold-up at The Convenience Shop in the same locality. The prosecuting officers were CID Inspectors Joseph Mercieca and Carlos Cordina. From left to right: Keith Chetcuti, Judge Emeritus Franco Depasquale, Deandra Schembri and Victor Grupetta. The Police Board also includes Labour candidate David Farrugia Sacco Two days later, Inspector Taliana arraigned Roderick Grech, 22, of Birkirkara, who pleaded guilty to the hold-up. Following Grech's arraignment, Borg's lawyer filed an urgent request for Borg's release. He was being kept in custody. In his report, Depasquale also referred to the testimony given by Borg and his mother. However he argued that their testimony was "not relevant" to the board's inquiry as it referred to circumstances which occurred after two individuals had been arraigned over the same case. "All facts relevant to the inquiry were explained in documents presented to the board and explanations given by the officers interrogated. No discrepancies emerged from their versions," the report read. The Darryl Luke Borg case featured extensively in the media after "miscommunication" among police officers was attributed to the case, prompting Opposition spokesman for home affairs Jason Azzopardi to decry the "irresponsible and unacceptable actions" of the police. The Opposition then turned its guns on the home affairs' chief of staff Silvio Scerri. It accused Scerri of having used a convicted criminal to act as a go-between with Borg. Scerri has denied knowing whom Charles 'iz-Zambi' Attard was and always insisted it was Borg who had wanted to get in contact with the ministry. How the case unfolded On Sunday 4 August, a hold-up at The Convenience Shop in Birkirkara was reported at 9.05pm. A CID investigative team led by Police Inspector Keith Arnaud and Police Inspector Elton Taliana, as the district officer, took over the case. On Tuesday 6 August, CID inspector Carlos Cordina informed CID inspector Joseph Mercieca he had received information from "a reliable informer" that Darryl Luke Borg had carried out the hold-up. Following up on the tipoff, the inspectors searched through their database and, even though Borg had already been involved in criminal cases, they couldn't find his picture. The informer subsequently provided them with a photo of Borg taken from Facebook. Inspector Mercieca requested an arrest warrant and proceeded to Borg's home. It turned out that Borg had been admitted to Mount Carmel Hospital a day before. When asked where her son was on Sunday night, Borg's mother said she was "not so sure". At 1pm, the CID officers obtained permission from the doctor at Mount Carmel Hospital to question Borg, who always denied any involvement in the hold-up. He however admitted to having had an argument with his mother over his drug and money problems. On the morning of 7 August, Mercieca and Cordina arraigned Borg. The man pleaded not guilty to the charges but Magistrate Doreen Clarke remanded him in custody. According to the report, Inspector Mercieca examined the route taken by the thief; he considered Borg's past criminal record, which included drug-related cases and two thefts – one from a supermarket and the other from Ghadira. Borg had also admitted to borrowing money on Sunday to buy drugs. During that same morning, while Inspector Elton Taliana and court expert Martin Bajada were examining CCTV footage from Da Vinci Hospital and St Anne's Clinic, they received a call informing them that a person in connection to the hold-up was arraigned. "[Taliana] informed Dr Bajada and he said that at the moment he had to stop what he was doing as a procedure Darryl Luke Borg , accused of a crime he didn't commit of the inquiry," Taliana told the board. He reportedly also discussed Borg's stature with the district officer and noted the thief had been described as short. A "message read report" was subsequently sent to all divisions to let all involved officers, including the Birkirkara police station, know that Borg had been charged with the hold-up. On 8 August at around 7pm, Taliana received "discreet information from a liable [sic] informer that the person arraigned by the Police was not the one involved in the hold-up but who actually committed the armed robbery was Roderick Grech known as ic-China izZghir." Taliana told the board he had received an urgent call from his informer that he was 100% sure the crime was committed by Grech. A warrant was issued and Grech was arrested. On Friday 9 August, Grech admitted to committing the hold-up and handed in his balaclava and pistol. According to the Police Board, Taliana still failed to inform his superiors that Grech had admitted to the crime. He however called Magistrate Clarie Stafrace who told him to arraign Grech. Taliana sought advice on "how to arraign someone on a hold-up". Quizzed by the board, the Police Inspector said between the time he received the tip-off and the moment Grech was arraigned in court, he informed no one. "I was acting according to law which states that it is the Magistrate who can take action to free someone," Taliana said. The Police Board is of the opinion that this interpretation of the law "appeared strange if not completely incorrect". Taliana then called Magistrate Doreen Clarke, who presided over the Darryl Luke Borg arraignment, and informed her Grech had been arraigned. Like his colleagues, Taliana also sent a "message read report" – this time to all Police Corps departments including the chaplain, the doctor and the Police Academy – to let them know he had arraigned Grech. Police board recommendations After analysing the case, the Police Board recommended that police officers should be provided with guidelines on the preparation of charge sheets.