Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/653685
2 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 16 MARCH 2016 News MATTHEW AGIUS WASHING a car could end up costing a Valletta man nearly €15,000, after he was caught do- ing so when he was supposed to be observing a court-imposed curfew. Janis Caruana, 30, appeared in court before Magistrate Anto- nio Micallef Trigona yesterday charged with breaching two sets of bail conditions after he was ar- rested in a Valletta garage, osten- sibly washing his father's car. If found guilty, Caruana stands to lose his €14,750 deposit and personal guarantee associated with those previous bail condi- tions. This was Caruana's third ar- raignment since April last year, having originally faced drug charges and, after that, a separate set of charges for breaching his bail conditions last week. The ac- cused, who appears to have a col- ourful criminal record, chewed gum and stared fixedly at the magistrate during the sitting. Lawyers Veronique Dalli and Dean Hili, appearing for the ac- cused, entered a plea of not guilty. A request for bail was denied without a moment's hesitation. Dalli attempted to argue that the alleged incident was hardly the most serious or f lagrant of breaches and asked that witness- es be heard for the purposes of deciding on bail, but was cut off. "I am not going to listen to evi- dence," the magistrate replied. "It is difficult, in the circumstances. I read his statement, which con- firms what you said, but he must pay for his negligence. This is not the first time that he has done this. "Any further discussions would be on the merits and I am not here to decide on the merits of the case," the magistrate later added. Inspectors Jeffrey Scicluna and Daryl Borg prosecuted. Janis Caruana was arrested in a Valletta garage, ostensibly washing his father's car Court refuses to entertain tourist's allegations of police beating MATTHEW AGIUS A tourist visiting Malta on a break from his studies in the UK has claimed to have been mistreated by police after reacting to racial abuse in Paceville on Monday night. Somali-born Suleyman Ahmed, 24, pleaded guilty to a string of pub- lic order offences, just so he could catch his flight home tomorrow af- ter being denied bail by Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona. Ahmed had been refused entry to a club by bouncers, who then called the police. However, he claims that he had been "manhandled" by the officers before being taken to the police station for questioning, after which he was released. However, as he was being driven back to his hotel, he insulted an officer and was re-arrested and allegedly beaten. Lawyer Leontine Calleja, appear- ing on Ahmed's behalf, attempted to explain to the magistrate that her client was claiming to have been at- tacked by police because of his race, however the court refused to hear any "evidence on the merits", say- ing that this was for another court to hear. Prosecuting Inspector Trevor Mi- callef objected to bail due to the risk that the accused would abscond, pointing out that Ahmed was due to leave tomorrow. Calleja, undaunted by the court's repeated refusals to hear any of her submissions for bail, said that on account of one irresponsible com- ment, her client was surrounded and beaten by the officers. The magistrate was unmoved. "Can he offer guarantees? I can't risk it. "They were stupid remarks that he passed and now he has to face the consequences. I have him as an accused [not the officers]," the mag- istrate said. Faced with the prospect of be- ing remanded in custody until his case was appointed to be heard by a magistrate, the accused changed his plea to guilty. He was handed a six-month conditional discharge and an €800 fine. The tourist claimed to have been mistreated by police after being racially abused in a Paceville club TIM DIACONO ALTERNATTIVA Demokratika have formally asked the Presi- dent to propose that prisoner Daniel Holmes serve the re- mainder of his prison sentence in Wales, where his wife and daughter reside. "Without getting into the mer- its of the case, we believe that it is only right that Holmes get to meet his daughter, whom he conceived only recently, more frequently," AD chairperson Arnold Cassola wrote to Ma- rie-Louise Coleiro Preca. "We therefore request you to consid- er proposing that Holmes serve the remainder of his sentence in a Welsh prison, where he will be closer to his loved ones." Holmes' wife Marzena fell pregnant with their second daughter during a conjugal vis- it at the Corradino prison last year. Daniel Holmes' case goes back to June 2006, when police ar- rested him after finding one kilogramme of dried canna- bis leaves and a small amount of cannabis resin in his Gozo apartment. He insisted that the drugs were for his personal use, but a court in 2011 handed him a 10-and-a-half year prison sen- tence for drug trafficking. A Constitutional Court in 2014 ruled that his right to a fair trial had been breached, and that Malta's drug laws were uncon- stitutional. However, the ruling was dismissed a few months lat- er by a court of appeal. The Welshman has now filed a case against Malta in the Eu- ropean Court of Human Rights, that criticises the country's "ar- chaic and unconstitutional" drug laws, the Attorney Gen- eral's discretion, the disparity in sentencing, and the lengthy court proceedings. If the appeal fails, he will re- quest to be transferred to a pris- on in the United Kingdom. Holmes' parents' requests to the Prime Minister and the Pres- ident to give their son an amnes- ty have also fallen on deaf ears. AD urge President to push for Daniel Holmes' transfer to a Welsh prison Daniel Holmes was given a 10-and-a-half year prison sentence after being found in possession of one kilogramme of dried cannabis leaves Man risks €15,000 to wash car outside curfew hours