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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 7 MAY 2014 News 6 Man pleads not guilty attempted murder Jonathan Pace accused of attempted murder of Vince Muscat 'il-Kohhu' JONATHAN Pace, 31, of Gudja, was remanded in custody yesterday after pleading not guilty to the attempted murder of Vince Muscat, 52, in Pietà last month. Pace was also charged with firing a weapon in an inhabited area, damag- ing a car and being in possession of a weapon. Gianella de Marco appeared for the accused. Muscat, also known as 'Il-Koħħu', was shot three times on 7 April while getting into his car. It was Muscat who, after having been shot while in his car, drove himself to the police station. He was given first aid by the policemen until an ambulance arrived and took him to Mater Dei Hospital, where he was treated for the wounds he sustained. Although he was hit with three bullets to the head, one of the bullets entered his head and down his neck. Another shot hit him slightly while the third one first hit the car then his head. After being operated upon, Muscat was transferred to the ITU and was certified to be in danger of losing his life. The attempted murder happened when Muscat was in his car in Bor- din Street in Gwardamangia, Pietá. He had just arrived near his house when at least six shots were fired, hitting him at least twice, while the other shots hit the car. The shots were fired from a small calibre pis- tol. Vince Muscat was known to the police, and was required to sign the bail book at the police station in Msida, on a daily basis. He was alleg- edly involved in the shoot-out that took place with police officers when a heist on the Ruzar Briffa Centre, the HSBC head office, in Qormi was foiled. At least 30 rounds were shot at the police from the mobile squad. Muscat is accused of the botched heist on the HSBC headquarters in Qormi in 2010. He is also charged with attempting to rob the bank, the attempted murder of two police con- stables, the theft of a pistol and hold- ing another three police constables against their will. Heir of inmate who died in custody files Constitutional case Former Maltacom director jailed for drug possession CHRIS MANGION JANE Agius, the heir of Carlos Chetcuti – who died in prison after receiving a fatal dose of methadone – yesterday filed a constitutional ap- plication claiming that the inmate's right to life was violated. The case dates back to 22 Febru- ary 1995. Carlos Chetcuti was be- ing detained at the Corradino Cor- rectional Facility and was receiving medication to help kick his drug habit. However on the fateful day he was administered 40cc of metha- done, twice his usual dose. This led to Chetcuti suffering pulmonary oedema, which proved fatal. Following the inmate's death, the Civil Court ordered the Prisons Di- rector to pay €38,213 in damages to Chetcuti's family. In yesterday's case, Agius argued that no damages had been awarded for breach of the right to life. "Article 2 reads, 'Everyone's right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law'," Agius said. The plaintiff said that there exist- ed no form of structure regulating the administration of Methadone in prison. This was also noted by the Civil Court in its judgement. More- over, the dose was administered by a state employee, making the state responsible for the inmate's demise. While material damages have been awarded to the inmate's fam- ily, there exists no legal path to complain about the breach of fun- damental rights other than through constitutional redress. The same is said for moral damages, which are not listed in financial terms. "The fact that there is no rationale about moral damages does not automati- cally imply that there is no right," the lawyer said. The Convention itself reads that in the case of a breach of Articles 2 and 3, compensation for the non- pecuniary damage derived from the breach should in principle be part of the range of available remedies. In her Constitutional application, Agius is asking the Court to declare that there is no health care structure in place at the prisons, and that the right to protection of life of Carlos Chetcuti was violated. Moreover, the articles of law that deny moral damages are in violation to Article 13 of the Convention. The lawyers demand that the plaintiff is awarded compensation, and a structure for financial dam- ages is put in place. Agius filed against the Attorney General, the Minister for Home Af- fairs and National Security and the Prime Minister. Lawyers David Camilleri and Joseph Gatt signed the application. 400 ecstasy pills, 166g of cocaine found on ex-director's property FORMER Commercial Director of Maltacom Richard Attard, 61, of Gharghur, was jailed for two- and-a-half years after being found guilty of aggravated possession of ecstasy and cocaine. He was also fined €5,000. The case goes back to 14 July 2007. Police Constable Trevor Cassar Mallia told the court that, following the granting of a search warrant, the police found drugs in his car, house and garage, as well as some €3,300 in cash. In all, the police found 166 grams of cocaine and 400 ecstasy pills. In his police statement, Attard admitted to sharing the drugs he had bought with friends. SMS messages and a notebook also pointed to his involvement in such activities. Magistrate Miriam Hayman said that the court took into considera- tion Attard's health problemts but as he was found guilty in drug-re- lated crime, a jail term has to be implemented. Law yer Joe Giglio represented the accused and filed an appeal on his behalf. Prime Minister visits Zejtun family Requests for free child care services 'exceeded all expectations' PM tells childcare worker MIRIAM DALLI PRIME Minister Joseph Muscat visited a family of four from Zej- tun on Tuesday afternoon. The father, Saviour Mifsud, hap- pened to be an Enemalta employ- ee while the mother, Josephine, works at a childcare centre. Both 41, the couple has two sons, aged 13 and 16. Saviour Mifsud has been work- ing at Enemalta for the past 23 years and currently holds the po- sition of senior operator. He has also spent two years working at the BWSC plant. Muscat took the opportunit y to once again reassure Enemalta workers that their job was guar- anteed. "I visited Enemalta workers last week and like I said – you will remain workers employed by En- emalta. Your collective agreement is guaranteed," Muscat said. Mifsud replied that such news was welcome. Turning to the mother, who works as a childcare assistant, Muscat said the demand for the free childcare service "exceeded all expectations". "We thought some 1,500 moth- ers would apply. But we already have some 2,000 requests," the PM said. Jonathan Pace (centre) pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of Vince Muscat – who was shot three times on 7 April while getting out of his car

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