Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/480415
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 18 MARCH 2015 6 MARTINA BORG STRICTER absenteeism rules might be the cause for chickenpox spread- ing among schoolchildren, accord- ing to the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT), which expressed concern that parents of sick children were sending them to school in spite of their illness, thus causing com- municable illnesses to spread more quickly. Concerned parents contacted Mal- taToday to inform the newspaper that at least three cases of chicken- pox had been reported in one class at a boys secondary school. Asked about the alleged outbreak affecting Maltese schools, MUT president Kevin Bonello pointed out that the virus was as prevalent as it always was at this time of year. "The main problem we are facing right now is the fact that many chil- dren are being sent to school in spite of symptoms that they might have contracted chickenpox," Bonello said. Bonello cited misunderstanding of the rules surrounding absenteeism as a possible reason for this situa- tion. "The recent enforcement of ab- senteeism rules and the possibility of fines for missing school, might be to blame for the fact that many students are attending school de- spite any form of illness," Bonello stressed. Bonello added that the MUT held that the government should rethink its absenteeism system or at least inform the public about exactly how it works. "I myself am not clear on how the absenteeism system works with regard to illness, but it seems par- ents have a murk- ier idea," Bonello stressed. Following various reports of chick- enpox cases in schools, the direc- tor of Health Pro- motion and Disease Prevention within the health minis- try, Dr Charmaine Gauci said that the occurrence of chickenpox is often high at this time of year. "The condition affects children mostly, and the rate of chickenpox so far is within expectations," Gauci said. Gauci explained that chickenpox is a highly contagious illness that causes an itchy rash and red spots or blisters all over the body. Chickenpox isn't deemed a serious health problem in healthy children, but due to its contagious nature, children need to stay home if they are suspected of being infected. The first symptoms of chickenpox usually develop about 14 to 16 days after contact with a person infected with the virus, and the illness is contagious even before symptoms emerge. Symptoms include fever, a decreased appetite, a headache, a cough and a sore throat. The itchy rash usually appears about one or two days after the first symptoms start. It usually takes about 10 days after the first symptoms before all blisters have crusted over and those affected can return to school or work. The government has repeatedly stated that it would take a hard stand against parents who allowed and encouraged absenteeism, as well as doctors who issued unwar- ranted medical certificates. Last year, it was announced that parents would not get their €400 benefit if their children missed more than nine days of school without jus- tification. It was announced that tribunals could hand out a €7 fine, followed by an additional €2.33 for every failed attendance. News Man charged with death of Sudanese may have been protecting his friend MATTHEW AGIUS A jury has been told that a man charged with causing the death of 26-year-old Osama Al Shazliyay Saleh from Sudan, by knocking him to the ground, may have been trying to protect his friend. The trial of Atonel Dobre contin- ued yesterday, with the man who had been clubbing with the accused testi- fying that he believed that Dobre was trying to protect him. Radu Rica told the court that he had been in Malta for approximately one month, looking for work at the time and had known Dobre for about three. "That night I took my girlfriend, who worked in a club, to work, and then I met up with Antonel [Dobre]. We decided to stay together and chat. We are Romanian, we wanted to hang out," said the witness. After chatting for some time, they went for a walk and entered a club. He could not recall the name of the club, but the area he described was consonant with the area where the incident took place. "I had dropped off my girlfriend at Steam, as she worked there." He said he got to know that the ac- cused was in a relationship and had two girls. He said they both did not like going to clubs, hence their staying outside for so long, but they decided to check out a club. They sat around a table at the back of the club and ordered some drinks – vodka Redbull. "It was the first drink I had that night, but I think Antonel [Dobre] had some- thing to drink beforehand." After an hour of joking together, Rica went to the bathroom. "When I was coming out of the bathroom, a dark-skinned man hit me on the nose with his elbow". He said he had no idea why he was hit on the nose, but, "from what I think, it was intentional. If someone raises his elbow and hits you with it, it can't be an accident. Perhaps he mistook me for someone else". He said he had no doubts as to who had struck him, despite the crowded conditions of the club, but he did not have the opportunity to speak with the man who hit him, as security had pulled the dark-skinned man away. Another security guard handed Rica a tissue as he was bleeding from the nose. He then went back to his table with Dobre. "I told him, someone hit me and he told me to sit down till the bleeding stopped." After that, they decided to head home. "When we left the club, the dark- skinned person saw us and ap- proached us. He was angry and using bad language as he was approaching us... words that start with 'F'." Securi- ty guards in front of the club decided to intervene, said Rica. Assistant Commissioner Silvio Valletta pointed out discrepancies between the versions of events he had given in previous proceedings. Rica explained that discrepancies in the details of his testimony dur- ing previous hearings were probably down to mistakes in translation. "I noted the translator wasn't translat- ing everything," said Rica. "I was very nervous and scared... a policeman had told us we were both going to be locked up." What he did remember, he said, was that some bouncers approached them and Dobre pushing the victim, who fell. "I saw him [Dobre] lifting his arm and push him with his palm". He demonstrated an open-palm strike under the chin. The positioning of the two men, as described by Rica, was similar to the footage. Rica will continue his testimony tomorrow, after spending the night in court. Earlier today, the jury was shown CCTV footage of the confrontation which led to Saleh's death. The footage, exhibited by court ex- pert Dr Martin Bajada, shows a dark- skinned man walk up to a group of people outside the Pizza by Luca outlet, and interact with the people there. Something then attracts his attention from the road. The man is then seen walking towards that di- rection and within 20 seconds, he is on the ground. At the top right frame in another clip, from Hugo Special, shows one man wearing a white t-shirt and what appears to be a scarf, drawing his right hand back – seemingly winding up a punch. Another person, wear- ing a black jacket over a white shirt, falls backwards onto the ground and remains motionless. Neither of the men's heads are visible, as they are out of the top of the frame. Roughly two minutes later, the man in the scarf and another indi- vidual are then seen walking down the road in a hurry. Yesterday morning, the jury also heard the testimony of police ser- geant Duncan Demicoli, who at the time was stationed at St Julian's. Demicoli recalled how, at 06:50am on the day, his station had received a call from control room telling them that there was a man on the ground in Paceville, bleeding from the head. He found the victim on the floor, face up, unconscious, breathing with difficulty. "His eyes had rolled back into his head and there was a considerable amount of blood". "I noted there was a metal man- hole cover under his head. It looked like he had hit his head on this." An ambulance arrived soon after and Demicoli helped pushed the crowd back to give medical staff a space in which to work. He remem- bered the paramedic telling him, "I don't think he'll be with us much longer". The police sergeant had spoken to Jesmond Vella, a bouncer who works at Clique, the establish- ment outside of which the alterca- tion took place. Vella had told them that a Romanian man wearing a blue jeans and blue shirt had punched the victim and knocked him over. Assistant Police Commissioner Stephen Gatt also testified how he had visited the hospital where he was informed that the victim was in danger of dying. He informed the duty Magistrate. He, too had spoken to Jesmond Vella, he reported an argument be- tween a Sudanese and "a person who from his accent was either Romani- an or Italian, but likely Romanian". Vella told him that he had separated the two men, but "suddenly a punch was thrown and the victim went down". Vella had said that he tried to apprehend the person who had thrown the punch, but was unsuc- cessful. Gatt told the jury that he had sub- sequently watched the CCTV foot- age of a man wearing a jumper and jeans and scarf punching another man who ends up on the floor. An- other camera in St Augustine Street shows this same person holding his head in his hands, as if in anguish. "We didn't know the name of the Romanian. We were informed that Dobrev's brother, who was working on a construction project at an estab- lishment, three doors down from the place had been heard saying that his brother had been involved in a fight in Paceville, had gone to hospital but was not treated and had got on the first flight to Romania to be treated there". Teachers say strict absenteeism rules could spread chickenpox