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2 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 19 AUGUST 2015 News YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt Opposition condemns 'biased' PBS power station coverage THE Nationalist Party has filed another complaint against the Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) on grounds of bias in fa- vour of the government, this time for its Friday coverage of the Deli- mara gas power station project. In a letter to PBS head of news Reno Bugeja, the PN complained at how the public broadcaster gave more prominence to Fri- day's feature on the ongoing power station works than it had to a controversial €360 million state guarantee granted to the consortium behind the project. "The fact that PBS chose to broadcast the power station fea- ture on Friday, in the midst of a controversy over the state guar- antee, continues to confirm how it is being manipulated by the government," PN director of in- formation Matthew Bonett wrote to Bugeja. "Although the state guarantee dominated last week's political agenda, PBS didn't treat the news with as much impor- tance as it had to Friday's power station 'exclusive', which was fea- tured as their main news item. "Moreover, PBS didn't even re- fer to the state guarantee in their feature on the power station." In a statement, Opposition MP Clyde Puli also questioned why PBS' Friday feature had included comments from energy minister Konrad Mizzi, but none from the Opposition. "This goes completely against the principle of balanced report- ing that the public broadcaster should apply," Puli said. "PBS has become the Labour govern- ment's puppet, controlled by an agenda set by Castille." Opposition MP Clyde Puli claims that the public broadcaster has become 'the government's puppet' PN urges better management at Correctional Facility THE Nationalist Party has pointed out that the situation at Corradino Correctional Facil- ity has not improved despite the government's promise to address the situation of drugs being brought into prison cells. The party's statement fol- lowed the discovery of synthetic drugs on the premises on Mon- day. The discovery was made when a sniffer dog detected the substances in a prisoner's cell. The prisoner's urine also sub- sequently tested positive for the substance. The PN stressed that cases like these showed that the gov- ernment had fallen short of its promise to end drug abuse in prison, and that it was therefore essential to change the manage- ment of the facility. "The person currently running the prison is none other than Ray Zammit, and he is unworthy of this role," the statement reads, adding that the latter had been found guilty of abusing his pow- er when he covered up the shoot- out involving former minister Manuel Mallia's driver. "Zammit was also in business with Gaffarena while he was still a member of the Police corps," the party added. The statement added that Zam- mit's position in the running of the prison was dangerous partic- ularly in view of the dangerous relationship between Castille, the Police and criminality. Government says the fight against drugs at Corradino Correctional Facility is an 'ongoing battle' In its response to the accusa- tions the government said that the battle against drugs at the facility is constantly ongoing and that every individual case was a sign that the system is effective. "This government introduced more frequent drug tests both for residents and staff at the facil- ity," the government's statement reads, adding that it had also ensured a further investment in sniffer dogs, which had discov- ered the drugs in the aforemen- tioned case. "Under the previous adminis- tration, not only had these dogs become pets for the residents, but there was a fully f ledged racket within the facility," the statement reads quoting a 2011 Court sit- ting, presided over by Michael Mallia. The statement also points out that a report published by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction some months after this hearing, had revealed that drug tests had not been regular since 2009. Synthetic drugs were discovered at the Corradino Correctional Facility on Monday Bounced cheque earns man a suspended sentence David Grech, now 34, attempted to pay for a consignment of alcohol worth some €6,000 with a cheque linked to an account he knew was no longer open MATTHEW AGIUS A court has handed a man, who admitted that he had tried to pay for a consignment of drinks with a worthless cheque, a one-year prison sentence, suspended for three years. The case began in 2010, when David Grech, today 34 years old, had taken delivery of €6,027 worth of whisky and wine from NM Ar- rigo Limited. Grech had paid for the consign- ment with a cheque linked to a BOV account that he knew was no longer open. The supplier had gone to the police when the bank dishonoured the cheque. A representative of the bank had testified that, at the time the cheque was written, the account had been changed from an over- draft account into a loan, before eventually being transformed into a bad debt account in March 2011. Inspector Maurice Curmi charged Grech with fraud and misappropriation. Grech opted for summary proceedings and admit- ted to the charges. Magistrate Carol Peralta handed the man a suspended sentence, al- so ordering him to pay the balance of €6,027 within six months. Infant slightly injured on being hit by truck's side mirror AN infant is receiving medical treatment for slight injuries suffered when the baby was struck in the head by a truck 's side mirror. The 10-month-old Italian boy was being carried out of a house by his mother, 30, at about 9.30am in Triq San Vinċenz, Sliema, when an Isu- zu truck drove up the narrow street and its mirror hit the baby. The truck was being driven by a 37-year-old man from St Paul 's Bay. Police investigations are un- derway.