Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/668635
5 MATTHEW AGIUS A court has acquitted a former government customer care offic- er who had been charged with ac- cepting bribes from workers who wished to be boarded out. Thomas Woods, assistant sec- retary to former health minister Louis Deguara in 2008, had been accused of corruption and extor- tion, allegedly accepting bribes from Saverin Sinagra from Ze- jtun, to 'help' individuals who wanted to pass an exam before the medical board, with the in- tention of stopping work to re- ceive a pension of invalidity from the social security department. Sinagra had been found guilty of paying the bribes. Woods used to work at the Min- istry of Health where he handled applications from workers who claimed invalidity and applied to be boarded out. The court had heard witnesses claim that Sinagra charged the individuals Lm600, on Woods' instructions. Woods also required certain gifts for the help he was giving, such as a particular brand of expensive whisky. He had consistently denied so- liciting or accepting money from these workers although he admit- ted to accepting unsolicited to- kens of appreciation, on occasion. The case was filed in 2007 after a report was made by psychiatrist and later minister Joe Cassar. Cassar had reported how a worker, John Camilleri, had claimed to have been told by a ministry official, Saverin Sinagra, that he should speak to Woods on his behalf. In return for his boarding-out application to be processed, he was expected to pay between Lm600 and Lm700 (€1,397 and €1,630). Camilleri had refused to pay and Sinagra had informed him that the process would stop there, as she could not help him further. Questioned by police Sina- gra had admitted to having de- manded the money on several occasions and said that she would hand it to Woods. Woods denied ever asking for payment, however it was noted that Camilleri's boarding-out ap- plication had ceased to be pro- cessed at the same time. Witnesses testified to having been asked for money by Sinagra but said that Woods had never made such a demand of them. The court had found that while Sinagra had demanded the money and had told applicants that she would pass it on to Woods, there had been no such arrangement be- tween the two. Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit ruled that in her belief, Sinagra had been keeping all the money for herself. Woods had refused to testify in the criminal proceedings against the 71-year-old Saverin Sinagra, who had told the police that she used to send people to Woods who would see that they were boarded out of work. Clearing the accused of all charges, the court held that no evidence of wrongdoing on Woods's part had been exhibited and the charges were therefore not proven. Rabbit and a fish Directly appointed by Deguara to his secretariat since 1995, Woods has already admitted to investigators that he received 'gifts' from people applying for their invalidity pension through militant Nationalist activist Saverin Sinagra of Zejtun, who acted as go-between. Under interrogation by police detectives, Woods admitted he used to visit Sinagra at her house in Zejtun to receive rewards in the form of meat, fish, rabbits and wine, but denied he received pay- ments when asked whether he re- ceived up to Lm600 in kickbacks. His version contrasted with the statement given by Sinagra to the police, who said that she also handed sealed envelopes to Woods from recipients of the in- validity pensions. Psychiatrist and former Nation- alist MP Joe Cassar was crucial in unearthing the scandal when a client of his told him that he was told to pay bribes to be boarded out or forget about his pension, even though he was entitled to an invalidity pension. Last year, Cassar resigned from Parliament after MaltaToday published documents showing that he had failed to declare gifts received from businessman Joe Gaffarena. Cassar had convinced the client to speak to the authorities about the allegations, with investigators following the leads given to them that led to Sinagra and Woods. Deguara took at least one month to sack Woods since the police raided his office and confiscated all files and documents before in- terrogating him. When told that his assistant pri- vate secretary had admitted to re- ceiving gifts, Deguara said: "Yes, some rabbits and a fish". Deguara admitted that the al- legations showed that the trust he had put in his long-time aide had been breached and was disap- pointed about that, but he insist- ed that he never knew the abuse was going on. "Absolutely, I never knew this was happening and he (Woods) is still denying the alle- gations," Deguara said. maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 20 APRIL 2016 News Former ministry official cleared of 'medical board' bribery Former Nationalist MP Joe Cassar was crucial in unearthing the scandal when a client of his told him that he was told to pay bribes to be boarded out