Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/321747
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 1 JUNE 2014 3 News C M Y CM MY CY CMY K JAMES DEBONO HUNTERS who own a building within the Majjistral Park will be allowed to keep their weapons locked in their own property. Presently the law forbids anyone from keeping any weapon used for hunting in the Majjistral park after 10.00am during the hunting season. Therefore, anyone who was keeping weapons in any building located in the park was technically in breach of the law. But the legal notice has been changed to accommodate hunters who can keep such weapons locked in a building within the premises of the same park. The aim of the new regulations is to grant an exemption to persons hunting within the boundaries of the Majjistral, Nature and History Park to store unloaded firearms or other weapons, ammunition or equipment used for hunting in locked-up compartments in buildings located within precincts of the Majjistral, Nature and History Park. Hunters will only be allowed to store weapons in locked up compartments in buildings, which they "lawfully possess". Hunting in the park has been a long standing issue, and in 2009 an online petition calling for it to be banned attracted over 1,000 supporters in less than a week. The previous government had originally proposed a hunting curfew after 9am, but failed to enforce it. A Legal Notice issued last year banned hunting in the park prior to two hours before sunrise and after 10am. Diving equipment leads to MIA evacuation MATTHEW VELLA DIVING equipment belonging to a UK passenger travelling back to Manchester, had to be cleared by bomb disposal unit officers after the luggage it was carried in, twice generated an 'explosives' alarm, ac- cording to security staff. Passengers and travellers at the Malta International Airport were evacuated from the departure and arrivals lounges at MIA, due to the suspicious luggage – whose owner could not be traced at the time – at around 2.41pm yesterday. Airport Security (OMAS) first reported having found "traces of explosive" while handling the lug- gage. A passenger, Colin Watson, said on Twitter that passengers were ushered out of the airport through a crew gate airside, while other pas- sengers and airport workers were evacuated on the entrance to MIA. The Bomb Disposal Unit (EOD) was on site to "disrupt" the luggage, by filling it with water in a bid to neutralise any explosive that might be in it. "[Yesterday's] evacuation was triggered after airport security flagged a checked-in baggage con- taining diving equipment that was found to have traces of a suspicious substance," MIA said on its Face- book page. "The bomb disposal unit have now cleared the item in question and Malta International Airport will be resuming operations shortly. Once again we apologise for any in- convenience caused. Safety and se- curity demand that such actions are taken in these circumstances," MIA chief executive Markus Klaushofer said. "Malta International Airport thanks the security team for flag- ging the item in question, all state authorities and airport stakehold- ers for their full cooperation and airport users for their patience and understanding. "Despite the incident occurring at a busy period for the airport, opera- tions were able to resume as early as possible thanks to everyone's collaboration." The situation was brought under control within an hour, with pas- sengers and staff returning inside the terminal by 3.50pm. 14 years for man who raped eight-year-old daughter THE 35-year-old father of an eight- year-old girl was found guilty of her rape and defilement yesterday, after jurors deliberated on their verdict after three hours and a half. He was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment by Judge Michael Mallia. The trial by jury was conducted be- hind closed doors. The victim is today aged 16. The father was found guilty on all four counts of accusations. He was found guilty on the second count, of holding her against her will, by eight votes to one; and also on having cor- rupted the minor, again by eight votes to one. He was found guilty of filming himself and another woman having sex, while holding the child next to him, by seven votes to two. The trial, during which harrowing details of the rape and corruption of the minor revealed the most aston- ishing episodes of the girl's ordeal at the hands of the father, was heard be- fore Judge Mallia. The acts took place on 11 October, 2006, when the police received the re- port from the daughter's mother. Police and social workers had in- tervened to speak to the girl, who declared on several occasions that her father had committed obscene sexual acts with her, apart from having had sexual relations with his own daugh- ter. The girl was said to have told investigators that she resisted her fa- ther's sexual advances because of the physical pain he caused her, and that he would perform other sexually abu- sive acts to satisfy his depravity. Police seized a mobile phone re- cording of the crime in question, showing the man having sexual rela- tions with a woman, while holding her three-year-old daughter in his arms. The accused admitted that the woman was not aware that he had been filming her. The prosecution was led by assist- ant Attorney General Philip Galea Farrugia and Nadia Camilleri, whose charges against the man totaled up to 30 years' imprisonment. The first count of rape and defile- ment of the minor by a parent, carried a 30-year prison sentence alone. Apart from that, the girl had been subjected to her father's abusive actions from a young age. The second charge of holding the child against her will car- ried a punishment of up to five years' imprisonment. The third and fourth charges of committing lewd acts and corrupting the minor also carried 15 years' imprisonment. The man was defended by lawyer Joe Brincat. PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD Evacuated passengers waiting for the bomb disposal unit to "disrupt" the suspicous luggage outside MIA yesterday