Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/176463
9 News maltatoday, SUNDAY, 22 SEPTEMBER 2013 officials refuse to comment mning court sentence Sandro Chetcuti ence Malta Independent columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia to undermine his aggressor Sandro Chetcuti in her blog, the defence counsel told the court in the compilation of evidence against Chetcuti. One of the GRTU's officials, Philip Fenech, also claimed in his SMSes to Farrugia that he had garnered the sympathy of a senior police officer on the case, the Director of Prisons Abraham Zammit, and members of the press. Asked whether he was concerned by the court sentence, GRTU vicepresident Philip Fenech said: "I have absolutely nothing to add to the court sentence. I respect the judgment and I urge everyone to read the sentence very carefully." Other SMSes suggest that an opinion piece by the former television presenter Lou Bondì in the Sunday Times was circulated to Philip Fenech before it was published so that it may be vetted. "Noel and Herman [Grech, Sunday Times deputy editor] showed us the piece referring to Lou Bondì's Sunday Times article. Noel and Herman showed me their piece and our lawyers vetted them. Better like this. Hope DCG MA TAFFIGIEX [Hope Daphne Caruana Galizia doesn't mess it up]." Chetcuti was acquitted of the original charge of the attempted murder and harming of Farrugia, who was 65 at the time of 11 March 2010 incident, and of breaching the public peace. The attempted murder charge was later downgraded to GBH by the Attorney General during the criminal proceedings. The incident happened when the two men met at Farrugia's office to discuss an SMS that Chetcuti had mistakenly sent him, but which was addressed to then Opposition leader Joseph Muscat. Farrugia had been suspecting Chetcuti of leaking information to Muscat. A confrontation soon ensued, with Farrugia claiming he was beaten to the ground by Chetcuti, which the accused denied. Chetcuti claimed he hit Farrugia in the face once, knocking off his spectacles in the process. But Farrugia says he was kicked while on the floor, with Chetcuti threatening he would kill him. At that point, witnesses Paul Abela, Joe Attard and Sylvia Gauci and three other employees entered the office. Farrugia was taken to hospital, while Chetcuti turned himself in at the Valletta police station, where he was arrested, and later charged with the attempted murder of Farrugia. In comments to MaltaToday, GRTU president Paul Abela said that if the police decided to proceed and investigate he would have no qualms in providing his testimony. Asked whether this could have any consequences on his position, Abela said: "If the police or the courts decide to call me to stand as a witness, I will fulfil my duties as a Maltese citizen as I have already done. I believe this has no implications on my position. If called to provide my testimony I will fulfil my duties." The Police Commissioner Peter Paul Zammit has publicly stated that he would first wait for the appeal window to elapse before opening an investigation into whether Farrugia and other key witnesses committed perjury, as stated by the Magistrate. Chetchuti has eight days to appeal from the verdict, while the Attorney General has a 10-day window. The Police Commissioner said that only after this window is over would he decide whether to proceed with new investigations, given that all documentation and evidence was contained in the current court case. This week, Chetcuti's lawyer Edward Gatt said the original charge had been "abusively orchestrated" and pointed out that the court, in its decision, had ordered the Commissioner of Police to investigate anybody who had falsely testified in court. "Justice has been done with my client, although we are still seeing whether we will appeal the decision. We now feel that it is up to the police to investigate anybody who has given false witness in court." In comments to the press, Chetcuti said the incident had been "a storm in a teacup" that led to trumped-up charges against him and then a char- acter assassination against him and his family. The SMSes examined by the court also show Farrugia asking his son Jean-Karl – who was Farrugia's lawyer in the case – to call him up to testify in court first because other witnesses, GRTU staff who witnessed the assault, were 'mixing up things especially when he [Sandro Chetcuti] said noqtlok noqtlok [I'll kill you]'. The protracted court case revealed insalubrious details of the way witness accounts and even evidence could have been manipulated. Two medical experts appointed by the court put into doubt the evidence of radiologist Anthony Samuel – revealed in court to have dated Farrugia's daughter in the past – on the type of injuries Farrugia suffered when he was assaulted by Chetcuti. Other witnesses disputed Farrugia's version of events, in terms of the way he was assaulted by Chet- cuti, leading to the Attorney General downgrading the initial attempted charge to that of grievous bodily harm. The text messages fished out from the mobile phones of officials of the GRTU and presented as evidence in court point towards a concerted effort at manipulating testimonies of potential witnesses and even create doubt as to the evidence of medical professionals. When taking the witness stand for the second time last year, former GRTU employee Sylvia Gauci told the court that she "did not want to lie to the court", and said that before going to the police station the employees at GRTU were gathered and instructed on what they should tell police officers under interrogation. She alleged that GRTU president Paul Abela and vice-president Philip Fenech were also in the meeting during which employees were instructed on what they should tell police officers – both officials have refused to comment on this allegation. Gauci confirmed an SMS presented in court which shows she was instructed by Vince Farrugia on 19 March 2010 to tell police that Chetcuti wanted to 'kill' him during the assault: 'Re Wednesday, when you came in you saw him looking vicious and ready to butt my head with his. Your eyes' [sic] message which I read was 'watch it' and your eyes showed terror. That's what I'll say. And as he hit me you heard him say repeatedly 'noqtlok, noqtlok' (I'll kill you). That's the truth. I wake up in the night hearing those words in his hoarse voice laud [sic] in my eyes. We must all hammer this point." A former GRTU employee also testified in court that employees had been instructed by GRTU officials what to tell police and in court. jbalzan@mediatoday.com.mt