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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER 2014 News 6 New online system to track court cases Man who allegedly threatened to kill his daughter's mother remanded in custody Alleged burglar remanded in custody JUSTICE Minister Owen Bonnici launched a new IT system, which will give lawyers, notaries and legal procurators 24-hour online access to all information about every act in the civil courts. This means that they will no long- er have to queue up at the civil reg- istry in the Law Courts to track the progress of their cases. Bonnici said that the first phase of this project will incorporate cases from the superior and inferior civil courts. The system will be extended by December of this year to include legal mandates. "The aim of this service is for it to become an online depository of eve- ry document that exists in the Civil Registry," Bonnici said. "Legal professionals need this in- formation to be accessible from eve- rywhere," Bonnici said. "This sys- tem recognises that need and is part of the ongoing justice reform." The system was designed and de- veloped by the Malta Information Technology Agency. It will be ac- cessible online through PCs, tablets and smartphones from https://jus- tice.gov.mt. DANIEL MIZZI A 33-year-old deliveryman who allegedly threatened to "kill" and put the mother of his four-year-old daughter "under soil," has been remanded in custody after pleading not guilty to threatening to kill her. Kenneth Cassar, of Marsascala, also pleaded not guilty to threatening his former partner's mother, to harassing them, to relapsing, and to breaching a protection order. The court heard that at about 30 minutes after midnight yesterday, the accused went to his partner's house in Tarxien and "threat- ened her with a screwdriver" before taking their daughter. The prosecution told the court that the po- lice could not stop him from taking his four- year-old daughter because there was no court order. Nevertheless, the court heard that an agreement was made under which the ac- cused was to hand over his daughter to her mother yesterday. Prosecuting inspector Hubert Cini told the court that after bringing his daughter to the Paola police station at about 11:30am, the ac- cused threatened the mother of the child. "While the accused and his partner were at the police station, the accused managed to escape from my office and went downstairs where he threatened to 'kill' his partner, and put her 'under the soil'," the inspector said. In submissions, lawyer Martin Fenech, who appeared as legal aid, told the court that until a few days ago, the accused and his partner were still seeing each other. Moreover, the de- fence held that the accused took his daughter because he was angry that his daughter and her mother were awake at that time. On its part, the prosecution requested that bail not be given. In its decree, the court ar- gued that given the serious nature of the offence, bail should not be allowed. Conse- quently, Magistrate Ian Farrugia remanded the accused in custody. DANIEL MIZZI MARVIN Zammit, 28, of Msida, was yester- day remanded in custody after he pleaded not guilty to burgling a house in Birkirkara, and to the attempted burglary of another in Sta Venera. The court was told that on Saturday police received a tip-off that a group of people were acting suspiciously outside a house in Sta Venera. RIU police were subsequently dis- patched and the accused, as well as another man, Justin Coleiro, were spotted. A search of Coleiro's car yielded two screw drivers, duct tape, as well as a hood and oth- er tools used to commit burglaries. Coleiro was subsequently charged and remanded in custody. In submissions for bail, the prosecution insisted that Zammit should not be granted bail because witnesses have yet to testify, and there is fear of the accused tampering with evidence. Moreover, the prosecution insisted that the allegations are of a serious nature. Magistrate Ian Farrugia, upheld the pros- ecution's objections and remanded the man in custody. Inspectors Arthur Mercieca and Sarah Magri prosecuted, lawyers Kris Busietta and Jason Azzopardi represented the accused. Prisoner 'Il-Porporina' on hunger strike after testing positive for drugs JURGEN BALZAN PRISONER Alfred Bugeja, known as il-Por- porina, is reported to have gone on hunger strike after he was denied prison visits fol- lowing a positive test for drugs. Bugeja is serving seven years in jail since he was last convicted in 2010 after jurors found him guilty of stealing a car and its contents, including a shotgun. Bugeja has 52 previous convictions in a criminal record that is 49 pages long. Prison sources said that Bugeja had tested positive for drugs and was now confined to Corradino Correctional Facility's Division 12. He had his visits and delivery of food from home cancelled. In protest, Bugeja was said to have gone on hunger strike last Friday. Doctors have ex- amined him, finding him still in satisfactory health. Justice Minister Owen Bonnici and (left) law courts director general Frank Mercieca YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt

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