Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/499233
6 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 22 APRIL 2015 News Operational Programme II – Cohesion Policy 2007-2013 Empowering people for More Jobs and a Better Quality of Life Project part-financed by the European Union European Social Funds (ESF) Co-financing rate: 85% EU Funds; 15% National Funds Investing in your future CALL FOR QUOTATIONS Hiring of venue to hold a day International Conference for public sector officials Ref: OPM/MEU/01/2015 Date of Publication: 21 April 2015 Clarifications to be submitted by: 24 April 2015 (10.00am) Quotations to be received by: 4 May 2015 (12.00pm) Management Efficiency Unit Office of the Prime Minister Interested parties are to obtain the specifications document by sending an email on caf.opm@gov.mt Magistrate may inspect Montekristo 'zoo' on account of animal welfare concerns MATTHEW AGIUS A magistrate has reserved the right to perform an on-site inspection of the Montekristo animal facility, after an official from the Animal Welfare Department reported that the area in which the 'zoo' was housing its big cats was not currently in line with interna- tional standards. Dr Duncan Chetcuti Ganado, Vet- erinary Regulation Directorate of- ficial, gave the information to Mag- istrate Antonio Micallef Trigona in testimony in criminal proceedings against construction magnate Charles Polidano. Polidano, 55, was summoned to court yesterday on charges consisting of various breaches of the Animal Wel- fare Act in connection with a 'zoo' he is operating at Montekristo Estates. Chetcuti Ganado told the court that the department had initially received reports about an illegal zoo in 2012 and that he had visited the site soon after. The veterinarian had explained to Polidano at the time that he lacked the necessary licence to run a zoo and that such an establishment would have to be in conformity with certain standards. According to the Keeping of Wild Animals in Zoos Regulations, "all permanent establishments where ani- mals of wild species are kept for exhi- bition to the public for seven or more days a year" are considered to be zoos, with the exception of circuses and pet shops. No application for a licence had been received at the time, said Chetcuti Ga- nado, adding that MEPA approval for the structure to be used as a zoo was still to be issued. The zoo, which aside from several big cats – lions, tigers and pumas – al- so houses ostriches, zebra, deer, bulls, llamas and alpacas. It had also housed swine, which required a separate per- mit, he said, but these were later re- moved. The veterinarian's greatest con- cern was what he described as the sub-standard accommodation for the animals, in particular the wild felines. These were being kept in enclosures that were considered to be small by international standards. There was insufficient entertain- ment and distractions for the felines, he said adding that he was also con- cerned that the public was being al- lowed to stand too close to the cages. Chetcuti Ganado added that the gaps between the bars on the cages were large enough for a human hand to pass through. He told the court that in 2012, fol- lowing his visit, the department had sent a written warning to Polidano. A subsequent visit in April 2014 noted that "nothing had changed," resulting in a second warning being issued. He said that the businessman had told him that he "could not touch the structures" due to the MEPA issue, but Chetcuti Ganado said his interest was animal welfare, not planning permis- sion and after a third visit in July 2014 he wrote to the Commissioner of Po- lice, requesting action to be taken. He however noted that steps were being made in the right direction, add- ing that the swine had already been moved out and that in roughly three weeks' time the felines are to be relo- cated to larger enclosures. Questioned by the magistrate, the veterinarian confirmed that all the animals' paperwork had been in order and that they had been legally trans- ported to Malta in accordance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Summing up the witness's testimony, defence lawyer Michael Sciriha said that in effect the pigs were no longer an issue, cruelty had been ruled out and Polidano had demonstrated "ab- solute cooperation with the authori- ties". Progress had been registered he said, and the only issue still outstand- ing was the housing of the big cats, which should be resolved in the com- ing weeks. Inspector Jurgen Vella prosecuted. The case is to continue in June, with the possibility of an on-site inspec- tion by the Magistrate in the interim period. Bullying father ordered to pay daughter €83,000 Suspended sentence for using fake driving licence MATTHEW AGIUS A Gozo court has ordered a man to pay his daughter €83,000 after it found him to have caused her permanent psychological problems through cruelty and neglect. In denying the allegations, the fa- ther had alleged that the woman's mother, from whom he was es- tranged and legally separated, was manipulating her. The woman, who filed the case in 2008, had testified about her father's slothful, abusive and occasion- ally violent behaviour. Magistrate Joanne Vella Cuschieri was told that he had subjected the family, and her in particular, to mental cruelty. Her studies suffered as a result and the woman had only obtained her O- levels at the age of 20. Her mother had confirmed her testimony, and a former teacher had told the court that when the woman was still a young girl, she had shown symptoms of anxiety at school. A court-appointed psychologist had reported that the father was likely to be suffering from Paranoid Personality Disorder. The court was told that he had a marked absence of any parenting skills and that his condition would have had a negative impact on his children's self esteem. The woman had told court-appoint- ed experts that her father would mercilessly ridicule her because she was overweight. He had even com- posed an offensive rhyme about her weight, likening her to a pig – 'hox- na hoxna qisek katuba, par widnejn kbar qishom qlugh, imniehrek catt, denbu nnukklat, ghal qatla jehduh.' (you're as fat as a drum, your ears are like sails, your nose is flat, your tail a spiral, you're heading for the kill). Among other memories of abuse, she recalled her father telling her, when her younger sister was born, that he would lock her up on the roof without food and give her toys to the baby. Magistrate Vella Cuschieri held that the woman had suffered emo- tional abuse and accepted the re- ported level of psychological dis- ability, which was calculated by the court-appointed experts to be eight per cent. In awarding compensation, the court said that it was in no doubt that psychological disability could gave rise to a similar claim for dam- ages as a physical disability and or- dered the father to pay his daughter €82,984 in damages. MATTHEW AGIUS A 32-year-old man from Mali has been handed a suspended sentence after he admitted using a fake Italian driving licence to drive in Malta. The man, Yusuf Traore, a failed asylum seeker currently living in Mosta, pleaded guilty before Magistrate Natasha Galea Scib- erras to charges of making use of a false document, making a false declaration by using it to drive, driving without a valid licence and with being in possession of less than one gramme of canna- bis resin on Sunday. Traore was handed a 13-month jail term suspended for two years, together with a €200 fine for driving without a licence and a €50 penalty for cannabis pos- session. Law yer Noel Bartolo was legal aid. Police Inspector Melv yn Camilleri prosecuted. Romanian appeals jury trial sentence for 2012 Paceville death MATTHEW AGIUS THE lawyer representing Romanian Antonel Dobre has filed an appeal against Dobre's seven-year sentence, arguing that the judge's summing up did not satisfy the requirements laid down in the law, and requesting the court of appeal to either overturn the guilty verdict or, failing that, change the sentence. A jury last month found Dobre guilty, by eight votes to one, of caus- ing grievous bodily harm which led to the death of Sudanese man Osama Al Shazliay Saleh during a 2012 altercation outside a club in Paceville. Investigations had established that Saleh had elbowed Dobre's friend in the face while they were in the club. Some minutes later, Dobre con- fronted Saleh on St Rita's steps and punched the victim, causing him to fall and hit his head on the ground. Saleh's death, three days later, was established to have been the result of cranial fractures he suffered as a result. The jury had not accepted the de- fence's argument that Dobre's pun- ishment was to be attenuated by the fact that the act was excusable, due to it being provoked by a crime against the person. A verdict of seven jurors to two also found him guilty of breaching the peace. In the appeal application, Dobre's counsel, Roberto Montalto argued that in his summing up, the judge had not explained, nor attempted to explain, the fact that bodily harm is excusable when provoked by a crime against the person punishable by more than a year's imprisonment. Without this explanation, the ju- rors "had been left in absolute igno- rance as to how they were to weigh up and evaluate the provocation by the victim" and could not determine which form of this legal defence ap- plied. The application goes on to say that, in addition to this, the judge had commented in open court that the argument of provocation was of lit- tle import and that the defence had not given it much weight. Montalto describes the comment as out of place and erroneous. The application says that not only were all the elements of legitimate self-defence present, but that the punishment meted out was exces- sive and did not take into account the extensive submissions by the defence. He described the events as "unfor- tunate and accidental", which mer- ited the imposition of the minimum punishment available at law, if not a punishment under the minimum – as is applicable in special cases. A big cat (right) lazing around at Montekristo 'zoo'