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6 News maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 25 SEPTEMBER 2013 Trapper's hunting licence suspended, hit with €1,200 fine SITUATION VACANT A young man filmed by a CABS team illegally trapping dotterel near Sarraflu last week appeared today before the Gozo magistrates' court, where he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a fine of €1,200. His hunting license was suspended for one year and his trapping equipment – valued at several thousand euros – was confiscated. The seven dotterels used by the man as decoys and seized by the police were released into the wild last week by employees of MEPA. CABS volunteer Lloyd Scott, who was called as a witness but not required to give verbal evidence, as the trapper pleaded guilty, greeted the verdict: "We are more than pleased that the police and the courts have reacted rapidly and effectively in this case. We hope that this will serve as an example and deterrent to other would-be illegal trappers. "We will be closely monitoring the trapping scene before the start of the official season for thrush and golden plover on 20 October," he added. Another trapper from the same area, whose site had been identified by a CABS team in 2012, was also in court in Gozo yesterday, charged with illegal trapping. A similar sentence was handed down by the magistrate. Another man, who was filmed by a CABS team illegally trapping waders near Zurrieq last week, will also have to appear in court in due course. According to CABS, around 5.00am, the man activated three An illegal trapper in Zurrieq The MALTA RESOURCES AUTHORITY is a body established by law to monitor, regulate and review all practices, operations and activities relating to energy, water and mineral resources. It is seeking to fill the following vacancy. PART-TIME JUNIOR FINANCE OFFICER (ERDF PROJECT 288) ETC PERMIT 18/2013 The selected candidate will be responsible for administration and processing of ERDF Project 288. the day-to-day financial Applicants must: • • be in possession of a University Degree in Accountancy or an equivalent professional qualification; be proficient in the use of widely available software packages The above post is being offered on a contract basis, terminating on 31st December 2014, and on a 20 hour per week basis. The salary will be at Scale 9 (pro-rata) of the Government Salaries Scales. Further details can be obtained from the office of the Chief Executive Officer on telephone number 22955121 or on email address: ceo@mra.org.mt or from the Authority's website www.mra.org.mt Interested persons are requested to send an application, together with a detailed CV by not later than noon of Friday, 27 September 2013, marked Private and Confidential addressed to the Chief Executive Officer, Malta Resources Authority, Millennia, 2nd Floor, Aldo Moro Road, Marsa, MRS 9065, or by e-mail to ceo@mra.org.mt. All applications will be acknowledged and treated in the strictest confidence. MPO/65/2005/25 Millennia, 2nd Floor, Aldo Moro Road, Marsa, MRS 9065, Malta. Tel.: 22955121; Fax.: 22955200 http://www.mra.org.mt 40m-long clap nets and an electronic decoy to trap redshank and sandpipers. "The complete installation was as large as a football field, and its perimeter had been extensively planted to shield it from curious eyes," CABS president Heinz Schwarze said. According to CABS, one of the trappers caught at Zurrieq is clearly an incurable poacher who has had dealings with the police on several occasions. Police sources have further confirmed that the man had already been caught with illegal clap nets at the same trapping site at the beginning of last week – only days before CABS filmed him trapping again. "The fact that the man was caught at the same site again trapping pro- tected species shows that he has a complete disregard for the law," Schwarze said. Further research by CABS and BirdLife Malta has revealed that the same trapping site was the subject of police investigations at least six times in the 2008-2012 period. CABS called for the entire site to be closed down once and for all and for the owner to be banned from trapping for life. In another incident, CABS assisted in the apprehension of a poacher above Salina who, at 4.30am, had attempted to lure protected wader species to his hide using an electronic decoy. A police-AFM patrol alerted by CABS closed in on the man under cover of darkness and effected the arrest. He will be charged in due course. Jury suspended to await court's decision on rights claim CHRIS MANGION THE trial by jury of Martin Dimech, who stands charged with drug trafficking, was put on hold on the same day it was supposed to start, pending a decision to determine whether a previous court decision breached the fundamental rights of the accused. On 30 August, Dimech's defense lawyers filed a court application at the Criminal Court asking that the jury be put on hold due to two other pending cases. A constitutional case over the right to a lawyer at interrogation stage was still pending, together with a case filed in the European Court of Human Rights over the Attorney General's discretion to send the case for a trial by jury or not. Mr Justice Lawrence Quintano had thrown out the request. A constitutional plea was subsequently filed, challenging Judge Quintano's decision. However, Mr Justice Anthony Ellul decreed that the decision was the prerogative of the Criminal Court. On Monday, the defense filed a second application at the Criminal Court asking to stop the proceedings, to decide whether the previous decision by the same court not to put the jury on hold constituted a breach of human rights. Mr Justice Lawrence Quintano upheld the request and suspended the trial by jury pending the decision. Lawyers Franco Debono, Veronique Dalli, Joseph Gatt and David Camilleri are appearing for the accused.

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