Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/624751
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 10 JANUARY 2016 3 News PN wants minister's head after third suicide in custody THE Nationalist Party has called for the resignation of home affairs minister Carmelo Abela after a 45-year-old Eng- lishman who was being held under arrest at Mount Carmel Hospital committed suicide yesterday morning. The man had been arrested for drug-related offences. His death is the third sui- cide committed by a prisoner or an individual being held by the police since November, and PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami called on Abela to shoulder political responsi- bility for this series of deaths. "No democratic country accepts the death of three persons under arrest in three months, and no democratic country allows the responsible minister to stay on," he said in a statement. MaltaToday is informed that the hospital staff at Mount Carmel forensic unit raised the alarm at around 5:30am. The man had been arrested for drug-related offences. The death was confirmed by the Ministry for Home Af- fairs, which said in a statement that the prisoner passed away at Mater Dei Hospital despite attempts by Mount Carmel staff and paramedics to save his life. Police investigations and a magisterial inquiry led by Magistrate Gabriella Vella are underway, and the Home Affairs Ministry has pledged to conduct a parallel internal inquiry. However, Fenech Adami said that Abela shouldn't "hide behind a magisterial inquiry that takes long to conclude and may not necessarily be published". "Abela must shoulder re- sponsibility for the sake of accountability and credibil- ity," he said. "The public has now realised that, behind the façade of sweet words, lies an incompetent minister who has lost all sense of control." MATTHEW VELLA INVESTIGATING police officers will open a line of inquiry into the business activities of Sandro Cili- berti, whose companies Hangman and Al-Nibras won various public tenders in 2015 for the provision of school equipment and furniture. Ciliberti, 45, was targeted with an explosive device on Friday, which was placed near the garage of the businessman, known affectionately as 'ic-Chilly'. The blast took place in Triq Ġnien Xibla, Xagħra, at 3:50am. The businessman and his partner, Alexandra Bosios, who own the company Hangman Ltd, were inside the garage but no one was injured. Sources who spoke to MaltaTo- day said that in their search for leads, criminal investigators are looking at the scale of public ten- ders clinched by Ciliberti's compa- ny Hangman over the past year. Ciliberti is also the sole registered owner of Al-Nibras, a company specialising in the procurement of scientific products, chemicals and labware for pharmaceutical and petro-chemical companies, research centres and government institutions. Both companies were focused on the supply of lab equipment and school furniture to state schools, clinching some €2 million in public contracts since 2013, 75% of which were won in 2015. In the first half of last year, Cili- berti's companies clinched 21 pro- curement contracts won by public tender after submitting cheap and competitive offers: they included the supply of lab refrigerators, fur- niture and spectrophotometers for the Water Services Corporation, office furniture for the University of Malta, the Gozo Sixth Form, and various state schools. Most of the contracts were won in June and July. Ciliberti's two companies were also listed as among the main sup- pliers in state schools, according to information laid in parliament by education minister Evarist Bartolo. In all, Al-Nibras and Hangman are together listed 54 times as sup- pliers for products and services to 36 state schools. "When a successful businessman is targeted in such a heinous man- ner, it is only obvious that inves- tigators look into his interests to try and identity any potential ad- versaries," a police source told this newspaper. TVM.com.mt yesterday said that two men had been held for ques- tioning by the CID. The Times yes- terday also reported that investiga- tors were also looking into a beach concession in Comino which Cili- berti was awarded last summer by the Malta Tourism Authority for the hiring of umbrellas and deck- chairs at Santa Marija Bay in Com- ino. The contract was won by Ci- liberti following a bidding process which saw 16 submissions. Weeks after starting operations, the busi- nessman claimed that part of his property in Comino was damaged in an arson attack. The blast on Friday damaged a Mercedes Benz and a Ford Tran- sit that were parked in front of the garage. The blast failed to detonate four large gas cylinders inside the garage. Police look into Gozo bomb target's thriving business Gozo couple's company is a regular supplier of educational equipment and school furniture for government schools and in 2015 had won contracts in 36 schools Sandro Ciliberti and Alexandra Bosios. Photo: Facebook MIRIAM DALLI THE Maltese parliament will soon be fully autonomous if the House approves the Par- liamentary Service Bill by the end of this month. The law will bring Malta in line with the administrative and financial structures of other parliaments. Under the directorship of the Speaker, a parliamentary board would be responsible for parliament's administration. The House Business Committee will also receive a three-year financial plan submitted by the Speak- er. And parliament's financial provision would be derived from a consolidated fund as opposed to a budgetary al- location. A second important intro- duction expected by the first quarter of this year is the ap- pointment of a Commissioner for Public Standards. Parlia- ment has first to enact the Standards in Public Life Bill, which should result in more accountability. Parliament ended 2015 on a sour note, questioning the levels of sensibility of the elected representatives and the respect – or lack thereof – shown towards parliament as an institution. It is no surprise that the Speaker is more of- ten than not seen controlling what looks like an unruly class rather than policymakers. Hopes are high for a more mature parliament, with MPs more focused on the subject at hand rather than in giving the media or television view- ers a show to watch. Speaker Anglu Farrugia expects the MPs to be more respectful to one another and towards the institution. More importantly, Farrugia expects the MPs to be more "profes- sionally prepared". "I know that this was not the case on rare occasions but I am convinced that the MPs will strive to address their constituents' needs in the na- tional interest," Farrugia told MaltaToday. The government plans on approving the Parliamentary Service Bill and the Standards in Public Life Bill before the Easter recess. No more 'circuses', Speaker warns ahead of 'good behaviour' bill