Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/258814
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 12 FEBRUARY 2014 7 CHRIS MANGION THE court is still faced with the dilemma of whether to grant bail to half-brothers Jason Galea and George Galea, who are charged with the murders of Mario Camilleri 'l- Imniehru' and his son Mario in Au- gust 2013. Camilleri was Jason Galea's broth- er-in-law. The decision to grant bail to the ac- cused depends on whether the prose- cution's last witness – Alfred Attard, known as 'id-Deffien' (the gravedig- ger) – can be issued with a pardon so as to hear his testimony, or if he will be arraigned as an accomplice to murder. In separate proceedings, Ja- son Galea and Ronald Urry stand charged with the murder of taxi driver Matthew Zahra back in 2012, whose remains were found buried in the same field as the Camilleris by the police during their exhumation. The Galeas' request for bail ground to a halt, due to an unre- solved dilemma as to whether At- tard, the owner of the field where the bodies were buried, should be charged as an accomplice. Attard is currently undergoing chemothera- py. The prosecution claimed his illness was at an advanced stage. The Galeas requested bail seven months ago, and now argue that the prosecution's delay in summon- ing civilian witnesses has precluded them from their right to bail. "If the police accompany Attard so that he can collect his unemployment ben- efits, they can accompany him to this hall to give evidence," defence lawyer Joe Giglio said. A decision on bail was expected to be taken by Wednesday. Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trig- ona will this morning either order the prosecution to summon Alfred Attard as a witness, or consider and decide over the accused's bail re- quest. Lawyers Giannella de Marco and Joe Giglio are representing the ac- cused. News Bail for Jason and George Galea still in the balance MIRIAM DALLI IN an attempt at compensating for a lack of manpower, the Malta Police Force will be reinstating former po- lice officers and constables, on a part- time basis. The first recruitment will take place Thursday, with 26 former police of- ficers re-joining the police force. The part-timers will be pooled from officers who left the force after reach- ing pensionable age or retiring after their 25 years of service, but still want to remain active within the force. The MPF is currently strug- gling with a shortage of manpower, amounting to around 500 officers spread across all ranks and units. Commissioner for Police Peter Paul Zammit said the reinstatement will be the first of a series of recruit- ment exercises to take place in order to make up for the deficit in human resources. "The force is under by 500 offic- ers and we are employing different methods to make up for this prob- lem. There are officers who want to continue giving their services to the force and we will be making best use of their service," the Commissioner told MaltaToday. He said that a number of officers preferred working part-time instead of leaving the corps for good. Similar recruitment will take place in the future, as priority today re- mains filling vacant posts that are es- sential for the smooth running of the daily operations. The police constables will be re- cruited in various units within the corps, including drivers, on the beat, and carry out office work. PROBATIONER Johann Grech, 29 of Valletta, was arraigned and granted bail after pleading not guilty to slightly injuring his former girlfriend. Prosecuting inspector Luke Bonello told the court the incident happened last Saturday night in St Julian's. The accused threatened and assaulted his former girlfriend Karen Formosa and terrorised Anna Formosa. Grech was also charged with breaching the public peace, committing an offence while under probation and relapsing. Magistrate Gabriella Vella, noted the accused's innocent plea and granted him bail against a deposit of €500 and a personal guarantee of €2,000. Lawyer Gianluca Caruana Curran appeared for the accused. AN importer of fresh fish from Oman was ordered to pay €14,414 in customs duty, which he attempted to evade between October 2004 and February 2006. The first hall of the Civil Court heard how Kevin Attard, sole direc- tor of Customs and Freight Agency Limited imported fish on behalf of a number of fishmonger. While At- tard had a licence to operate as a customs clearing agent, he was not authorised to import fish, hence he made use of third party permits. Following suspicions of tax eva- sion, Customs investigated Attard. Documents exhibited in court read that the accused imported fish for a number of fishmongers, and also acted as their customs broker. Police investigations led by In- spector Ian Abdilla revealed how Attard would request Oman Fish- eries for an invoice showing a price cheaper than that paid. This invoice would be used for customs and tax declarations. Examining Attard's computers, the Police Cyber Crime Unit found the accused would then issue an invoice with a profit mark up to Ice Products, C&L Calleja, Bugeja Fish Shop and Micallef Fish Shop, on behalf of whom the fish was imported. However, Kevin Attard reiterated that the TDID/SAD documentation exhibited at court showed fish im- ports made by other people. He in- sisted that he was simply a customs clearance agent and was not respon- sible for payment of duty. Mr Justice Gino Camilleri held that the Comptroller of Customs had sufficiently proved his claim that Attard was indeed importing the fish himself, then selling it to others at a profit. The First Hall of the Civil Court ordered Attard to pay €14,414 owed in custom duty, together with all relative court ex- penses. KERSTEN Borg, 21 of Marsascala was today fined €300 after admit- ting to grievously injuring a friend in a traffic accident on the Birkirka- ra by-pass. On 22 July 2012, at around 9pm, Borg was with his friends at Msida and agreed to drive to Zebbug in two different vehicles. Kirsten Por- telli was behind the wheel of the second car. On the Birkirkara bypass, Portelli gave way to an oncoming vehicle and Borg crashed into the back of his car. In the incident the victim suffered a laceration above his right eyebrow. Borg was charged with causing grievous injuries to Portelli and driving in a dangerous and negli- gent manner. However, Magistrate Ian Farru- gia said that there was no evidence that Borg was negligent in his driv- ing. "It was an unfortunate incident between friends and all damage was covered by the insurance," the court said. Borg, who in the coming days is embarking on voluntary work abroad, was fined €300. Inspector Robert Vella prosecuted. Man charged with injuring former girlfriend Importer ordered to pay €14,414 in customs duty Fined €300 for injuring friend in driving accident Mario Camilleri 'l-Imniehru' and his son Mario (left) Police force to reinstate 26 police officers on part-time basis Men accused of Imniehru murders waiting for court to decide on bail