Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/340052
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 2 JULY 2014 News 4 Three slightly injured in traffic accident A 21-year-old Senglea motorist and two passengers - an 18-year-old female and a 19-year-old male - have been hos- pitalised following a traffic accident in Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann yesterday. Preliminary investigations showed that the driver lost control of his vehi- cle, a Fiat Cinquecento, with the vehicle overturning. All three car occupants were slightly injured. Fishing trawler capsizes at Fekruna Bay There was some tension earlier yes- terday afternoon when the Civil Pro- tection Department received a call that a boat, probably a cabin cruiser, had capsized just outside Ferkruna Bay limits of Xemxija. In just a few minutes, CPD personnel from the Xemxija Station arrived on the scene but the owner, a man from Mosta, confirmed that it was his 24ft fishing trawler that had capsized, and that there was nobody onboard. Police from the Rapid Intervention Unit were also dispatched to the scene. However, there was little they could do. The owner made all the arrangements to have his fishing vessel brought to shore. It is not known how or why the trawler capsized. DANIEL MIZZI A constitutional application call- ing on a court to discard evidence given by a witness and used to incriminate a man accused of heroin possession has been turned down by the court which ruled that the claim must be filed by the wit- ness himself – and not by the third party. Renald Baldacchino argued that in using the police statement of Angelo Cassar during his proceed- ings, the court was violating his right to a fair trial, because the wit- ness himself was not afforded the right to legal representation during police interrogation. 34-year-old Baldacchino was ac- cused of being in possession of between 40 and 50 grammes of heroin in 2004. His case is ongo- ing and the evidence being used against him is a police statement given by Angelo Cassar during the latter's arrest. Counsel Giannella de Marco, for Baldacchino, argued that the rule precluding a police statement given without legal representa- tion from being used against an accused should be extended when such a witness is used to incrimi- nate other persons. Consequently, Baldacchino claimed that the evidence should not be admissible before the courts. Describing the application as "frivolous and unsustainable", the Attorney General argued that the right to a fair trial does not extend to allegations occurring prior to the commencement of a trial. In its decree, the First Hall of the Civil Court in its constitutional jurisdiction, dismissed Baldacchi- no's claim, ruling that the witness's police statement was confirmed on oath and counter-examined by the defence. Fundamentally however, the court dismissed the plea on the ba- sis that the witness himself did not complain of any breach of human rights. In addition, Cassar did not dispute the validity of the evidence when the same police statement was used to incriminate him. Moreover, the court held that criminal proceedings against Baldacchino are ongoing, thus enabling his defence to counter- examine the witness's evidence again. The court dismissed Baldacchi- no's claim and ordered him to pay the court costs. Alleged trafficker fails in 'unfair trial' claim Accused of being in possession of 40 and 50 grammes of heroin