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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 22 OCTOBER 2014 News 6 Siggiewi man fined for beating brother's dog MATTHEW AGIUS A court has fined a Siggiewi man €1,200 for animal cruelty, after find- ing him guilty of beating a dog with a brick and a piece of wood, while it was on a lead tied to a wall. Magistrate Neville Camilleri heard that Paul Attard, 53, of Siggiewi at- tacked the dog in November 2013 as he was walking in a field belonging to his brother, Alex. The dog was on a leash tied to a wall at the time. In his testimony, Alex Attard claimed that on the day of the attack, he heard his brother shouting that he couldn't make his way through the field "because of the dogs". Alex At- tard said that he shouted back "have they ever bitten you?" and went back inside his house. He looked out again after hearing noises and he saw his brother beating a dog with a piece of wood. Alex Attard and his partner then confronted Paul Attard, who then made as if to attack them with the stick. At this point, Alex Attard said he sent his brother away from his field. Attard claimed the dog had an obvious wound on its nose and was heavily traumatised, and exhibited veterinary certificates and CCTV footage. From the CCTV footage, it appears that before beating the ani- mal, Paul Attard threw a brick at it. Alex Attard's partner, Maryanne Zammit, told the court that she had just taken the dogs out on the day of the attack and that they were in their field. She explained that they had moved to the farm so that the dogs would have more space to roam, and denied moving because of dog-related complaints. "We never had any trou- ble with the neighbours at our previ- ous address because of the dogs," she said. Dr Kevin Camilleri, a vet who treat- ed the animal, testified that he found a slight injury to the dog's nose, which was bleeding. He said the dog was not concussed and had not suffered brain damage, but was "very agitated and anxious". The accused told the court that he had attacked the dog in a "fear- induced panic" after several dogs chased his motorcycle. He "only wanted to scare the dog" and said he never actually hit it. He also denied attacking his brother and brother's partner, claiming that on the con- trary, he had stones thrown at him by the couple. The court, while taking into account the accused's clean police conduct, described the act as cowardly and his argument as "puerile and insignifi- cant" and said that he could have eas- ily escaped. Had he wanted to defend himself, he would have driven off. It noted that, in spite of the accused's fear of dogs, he stopped his motorcy- cle and went back to attack it. Parliament stone supplier counter-sues contractor Libyan who allegedly attacked off-duty officers denied bail Attempt to shield son earns father a conditional discharge MATTHEW AGIUS Q Stone Ltd, a Maltese company con- tracted to supply stone for the new Parliament building, has filed a coun- ter-protest against Italian company CFF Filiberti Srl, forcefully rebutting the allegations levelled against it and demanding Filiberti withdraw their claim. Last week saw CFF Filiberti file a judicial protest against Q Stone, ac- cusing it of not delivering the agreed amount of stone in the established timeframes, which was leading to de- lays in the completion of the new Par- liament building. It also alleged that the quality of the stone was poor. Q Stone described the accusations as shameful, more so for resorting to broadcast media as the forum "to kick up a fuss, as it knows its tired argu- ment will never find comfort in the courts of justice". It denied ever halting the provision of stone in spite of non-payment, add- ing that CFF Filiberti lacked the nec- essary money to pay the €250,000 it owes to Q Stone. However, as a result of last week's judicial protest, Q Stone reserved its right to halt the provision of stone now. It also reserved its right to seek damages caused by the "false accusa- tions". MATTHEW AGIUS GEORGE Falzon, 55 from Qormi was conditionally discharged after he admitted to making a false state- ment to the police in order to shield his son, Joseph. The son had been at the wheel of a vehicle when he was involved in an accident in 2013, but the father declared to the police that he was driving the vehicle at the time. He had a change of heart soon after and admitted the truth to the police. Magistrate Doreen Clarke took into account Falzon's early admis- sion and clean criminal record, handing him an 18-month condi- tional discharge, explaining to the accused that if he is found guilty of another offence during that period, he would be punished for both of- fences. www.gourmettoday.recipes MATTHEW AGIUS A Libyan man who allegedly at- tacked a group of off-duty police- men and women with a knife in Paceville last Saturday, appeared before Magistrate Giovanni Grixti yesterday, charged with attempted grievous bodily harm. Munir Mohamed Ali Gammudi, 33, was charged with causing griev- ous bodily harm to a police officer and slightly injuring three others, when he was involved in an alterca- tion with a group of off-duty police officers in Paceville and knocked unconscious in the fight. This was not Gammudi's first run-in with the law – in August he had injured himself jumping into the sea at St. Julians when attempt- ing to escape arrest for drug pos- session. He was further charged with car- rying a knife without a licence, vio- lently resisting arrest and breach- ing previous bail conditions. Gammudi woke up in hospital, under police guard. After his dis- charge, he was rearrested. Lawyer Giannella de Marco, appearing for Gammudi, claimed that he had not been made aware of the fact that he had been released while he was in hospital. She contested the arrest, telling the court that the accused had ef- fectively been under arrest without charge for over 48 hours, the maxi- mum allowed by law. He had not been informed, in a language he understands, said de Marco, that he was no longer under arrest while in hospital. Further- more, there was always a police- man in the ward, which meant that he was not really free. Defence counsel told the court that a Maltese woman who was also hurt in the fracas had made a statement describing her assailant as wearing a white shirt and Gam- mudi was not dressed that way. The prosecution objected to bail on the grounds that the accused had only been in Malta for four months and he was already on bail for an- other offence. In fact, said Pros- ecuting Inspector Elton Taliana, he should have been at home at the time of the incident, as it was past his curfew. Furthermore, as he had already breached bail conditions, he was demonstrably untrustwor- thy and therefore a f light risk. In fact, said de Marco, allegations come from both sides as one wom- an claimed that she was slashed by one of the off-duty police officers. Furthermore, she said, the accused was a refugee and had an interest in staying in Malta and was not a f light risk. The court, however held that the accused was untrustworthy and or- dered he be remanded in custody. Dance teacher pleads not guilty to defilement of pupil MATTHEW AGIUS A dance teacher from Paola has been remanded in custody after being charged with participating in unlawful sexual activities with a minor to whom he gave evening classes. Warren Muscat, 30, pleaded not guilty before Magistrate Giovanni Grixti to charges of defilement of minors, unlawful intercourse with a minor and violent indecent as- sault. Muscat denied corrupting a 13 year-old student. Inspectors Silvana Briffa and Jos- ric Mifsud, prosecuting, said that the crime was aggravated by the fact that the girl pupil was entrust- ed to his care. The prosecution claimed that several incriminating messages were also found on the teacher's mobile. Muscat was denied bail and placed in preventive custody after.