Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/547695
6 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 29 JULY 2015 News Police confirm identity of Danish woman found dead in Gozo Foul play not yet ruled out in death of 71-year-old, whose body was found on Sunday in a valley in Gozo THE woman found dead in Gozo on Sunday has been iden- tified as 71-year-old Danish na- tional Vera Holm. In a brief statement issued yesterday, the Police once again asked for the coopera- tion of those members of the public who may have informa- tion which sheds light on the circumstances leading to the death of the Danish woman, whose unclothed body was found in a Gozo valley on Sun- day. The woman was found f loat- ing face down in a pool of water in Wied il-Kapuccini, limits of Victoria. Police investigations are ongoing. Addressing a subsequent crime conference, Assistance Police Commissioner Silvio Valletta said that the autopsy results were inconclusive, the woman's head and rib injuries being compatible with both blunt force trauma or a fall. Further tests were required to establish the time and cause of death, said the Assistant Com- missioner. The 71-year-old woman had been missing for three days before her body was found in Wied il-Kapuccini. Here on holiday with her son-in-law, her grandchildren and her son-in- law's brother, the woman was reported missing last Friday at around 6.30pm. The son-in-law, who reported her missing to the police, said that she had gone shopping on her own and did not return. The Police asked that any- one who may have information which could help them in their investigations to contact them on the confidential tip off line 119. 71-year-old Vera Holm had been missing for three days before her body was found in a valley in Gozo Rental cars stolen, then shipped into Malta MATTHEW VELLA CARS rented out across Europe were being stolen and shipped out from the port of Pozzallo, in Italy, allegedly to be sold in Malta, Ital- ian police said. Mobile squad officers from Ra- gusa said they were monitoring activity in the Pozzallo departure point, a main gateway to Malta, where they said that thieves "were conspiring to enrich themselves il- licitly at the expense of rental com- panies". Six cars are believed to have al- ready been sold on in Malta, after being reported stolen. An unnamed Ragusa man was identified as having rented an "ex- pensive" car from Germany, valued at €45,000, one that only had 30km on its odometer, who then drove it down to Ragusa in a bid to strike a deal with "either Italian or Maltese delinquents". They would then buy a catamaran ticket on somebody else's name, to take the car away, while back in It- aly they would register a stolen car complaint from some distant area. The police said the criminals ac- quiring the cars in Malta were also dismantling them to resell their spare parts. A man rented a €45,000 car from Germany and drove it down to Ragusa in a bid to strike a deal with Italian or Maltese criminals Family court says Belgian man 'tacitly acquiesced' in children's relocation to Malta MATTHEW AGIUS A request by the Department of Social Welfare Standards, that two children be returned to their father in Belgium after they were brought to Malta last year, has been turned down by a court on the ground that the father had tacitly acquiesced in the children's relocation. In a judgment in the Family Court, Mr Justice Robert Mangion held that the request could not be upheld as the father was aware of the mother's intention to stay in Malta after bringing the children here. This awareness was proved by the fact that the father was looking for a job in Malta and had placed their matrimonial home in Brussels up for sale at the same time. The case was opened by the So- cial Welfare Standards Depart- ment in March after the father filed a claim with the Belgian Cen- tral Authority, under the Hague Convention, asking that his chil- dren be returned to Belgium. The Family Court in Malta heard that the mother had come to Malta because the couple were experi- encing marital problems caused by the husband's sexual proclivities, which aside from adultery, includ- ed sexual activities with multiple partners conducted in the matri- monial home and his office, in the absence of the wife. The couple, who were co-work- ers at an EU institution, had been discussing relocating to Malta for some time. The woman said that she had invited him to relocate to Malta in the hope that this would sever his ties with his partners. The mother had come to Malta in May 2014 with the two children – a boy and a girl less than three years old – with the consent of her husband. The father claimed to have ex- pected his wife to return after- wards, but that she had failed to do so. However, the mother de- nied this, saying that he had been aware that no return date had been decided and that she had come to Malta to stay with her parents and to get some perspective on the is- sues affecting their marriage. Signs had initially been encour- aging, as while the woman was in Malta, he had been applying for jobs in Malta, Belgium and Swe- den. But during a visit to Malta in December the mother had found compromising photos on his Fa- cebook page and realising that he would not change, she filed for separation. It its judgment, the court held that although the mother may have unlawfully retained the chil- dren when she did not return to Belgium, the father's intensified job search activities in Malta, as well as the fact that he put their home in Belgium up for sale, dem- onstrated that he had acquiesced in the mother's retention of the children. The court rejected the request by the department of social welfare, noting that case-law had long es- tablished that "once a parent acqui- esces in a retention, he or she may not withdraw that acquiescence". British teenager fined €2,400 for driving without insurance MATTHEW AGIUS A 19-year-old girl from Luton was counting her blessings as she flew home yesterday afternoon, having been let off with a fine after being found guilty of driving a car with- out the consent of the owner and without insurance coverage. Police Inspector Maurice Curmi arraigned Niamh Maria Murphy before Magistrate Carol Peralta yesterday morning, after the girl was involved in a collision with a BMW while she was driving a Daihatsu Sirion belonging to her Maltese boyfriend's sister. Inspector Curmi explained that the police were arraigning her un- der arrest because the owner of the BMW had filed a police report. She was also due to return to the UK within 24 hours, he told the court. Lawyer Noel Bianco, appearing for the girl, pointed out that she was not being charged with vehicle theft. The magistrate agreed, gen- tly telling the girl, who was clearly frightened "it is obvious that you borrowed the car, you didn't steal it." But the court was also not about to let the matter go unpunished. "The young lady made a mistake, and the mistake is going to cost her because the law specifies a mini- mum fine of €2,400." As the girl did not have sufficient funds to pay the fine – a fact which could have precluded her from trav- elling – the court conceded her the facility of paying her fine in instal- ments over a 12-month period. The owner of the Daihatsu, which she had been driving, stepped up and offered to act as a guarantor. "I want to make it very clear to you," warned the magistrate, stern- ly. "You may be young, but I hope you realise that you still have re- sponsibilities. Should you fail to pay the fine, the authorities will turn on your boyfriend's sister and she will have to pay on your behalf. It is a question of honour and duty."