Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/674824
2 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2016 News Workers told to pay €336 'bond' to Mr Clean or face deportation Filipino workers tell magistrate they were asked by their employer to hand in a returnable bond of €336, payable in two monthly instalments of €168, or be sacked and deported MAT THEW AGIUS THREE more former employ- ees of Mr Clean Ltd have testi- fied that deductions had been made from their pay, but did not agree on what the deduc- tions had been made for. The Filipinos testified before Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera in the case against Joseph Degiorgio, 71, his two sons Paul, 47, and Christopher, and non-executive director Jo- sianne Bugeja Degiorgio, who are contesting charges of hu- man trafficking. The workers told the magis- trate that they had been asked by their employer to give it a returnable bond of €336, pay- able in two monthly instal- ments of €168 or be sacked and deported. The court heard the wit- nesses, two men and a woman, explain how they had been put in touch with the company by a Filipino agency after paying up to €6,500 each. They start- ed working for the company in December 2014. All three claimed that the conditions listed in the con- tract they had signed in the Philippines before coming to Malta included accommoda- tion and food expenses, but found this to not be the case upon arrival. Once in Malta, they were asked to sign a sec- ond contract, a copy of which none of them had been given. But cross-examined by the defence, the witnesses gave different explanations to the court as to the reason for this deduction. While two of them appeared to struggle to reply to the defence – though not to prosecution questions – the third employee claimed that Joseph Degiorgio had described the deposit to be a " bond " which would only be refunded upon expiry of the contract. If they were to leave their employment this would not be refunded. One worker testified that she had no option but pay the de- posit as otherwise she would not be able to give financial support to her family in the Philippines. The defence pointed out that the decision to deduct this de- posit had been reversed and no deduction had been made in April 's salary. It also pointed out that prior to effecting the deposits, the employees had been invited for an explana- tion at the company's office, but none of the witnesses had turned up. The workers had decided to stop turning up for work after hearing about the arraignment of the company directors, fear- ing the company was in trou- ble. The woman told the court that she had not returned her work and residence permits. Police inspectors Joseph Busuttil and John Spiteri are prosecuting. Law yers Franco Debono, Joe Giglio, Amadeus Cachia and Marion Camilleri are defence counsel. Law yers Lara Dimitrijevic and Anne Marie Bisazza ap- peared parte civile for the workers. Four hurt in traffic accident A woman suffered grievous inju- ries while two men and another woman suffered light injuries in a three-car accident that happend early yesterday morning. The accident happened on Bur- marrad road in Mosta. Police said the impact was be- tween a Mitsubishi Shogun vehi- cle being driven towards Mosta by a 36-year-old man from St Paul's Bay, and a Ford Transit and Peuge- ot 309 being driven towards Bur- marrad. The cars were being driv- en by a 40-year-old woman and a 59-year-old man, respectively. A 51-year-old woman from Naxxar was a passenger in the Ford Transit. The four persons were taken by ambulance to Mater Dei Hospital. Judge begins summing up in Xemxija drug smuggling jury MATTHEW AGIUS A judge has begun summing up the evidence and relevant legal principles presented to the jurors trying two men who are accused of importing nearly 20 kilogrammes of cannabis resin on a speedboat six years ago. The trial of 40 year-old former barman Godfrey Gambin and Lib- yan Adel Mohammed Babani, 51 entered its penultimate stage yes- terday, with the defence finishing its closing arguments. In the morning, the accused's de- fence lawyers once again empha- sized flaws in the police investiga- tion leading to the men's arrests. Throughout the trial, the de- fence's principal argument has been that the men had not been aware that what they were going to pick up had been drugs and that therefore, the criminal intent nec- essary for a conviction was absent. In a previous sitting, the court had heard one witness, John Vella, testify that Babani had a pp ro ac he d him to ac- c o m p a n y him on the trip, but he had eventu- ally pulled out. Babani wouldn't have placed him in such a compromis- ing position as the two had been close friends, the witness said. Defence lawyer Malcolm Mifsud argued that in- vestigators had leapt to conclu- sions when there had been insuf- ficient evidence, pointing out that the police also had expressed their doubts at the time. Mifsud argued that his client's version had been corroborated by the police, scientific data and other witnesses. He pointed to the prosecution's emphasis on the testimony of a former Assistant Police Commissioner, placing his long and distinguished service as a guarantee of his credibility. "God forbid that the credibility of a wit- ness be tied to his rank in society," he said. "In our experience, certain people who hold positions which are looked up to, come here, kiss the cross and fail to tell the truth." "He did not know about the drugs. If he had conspired to bring a person into Malta, it was not about drugs. He could not have been guilty of possession as he did not know about the drugs. They were there for something totally different. If somebody has proved their case beyond reasonable doubt it is the defence, but let us not be too ambitious – even if you are not morally convinced that he is guilty, that is enough for the de- fence." The first witness in the trial, former Assistant Police Commis- sioner Neil Harrison, had claimed that the drug delivery had in fact been a "controlled delivery," in- tended to lead to the men being ar- rested in the very act of taking de- livery of the drugs. In his closing arguments, defence lawyer Franco Debono once again cast doubt on this controlled delivery operation. The police did not bring much in the way of evidence, Debono argued. So confused had been the police investigation that it had not even proved that the drugs exhibited in this case had been imported into Malta that day, Debono had argued. They said there had been an AFM presence in the operation, but no AFM wit- nesses were summoned to testify. No telephone intercepts had been exhibited, contrary to the usual practice in such operations. No witness had been brought to testi- fy that they had been tasked with receiving the sham drug delivery. The accused only had one mobile phone on their person. He repeat- ed his assertion that this was "the jury of those who didn't run away." The prosecution argued that the controlled delivery had been au- thorised by a Magistrate, accord- ing to law. Gambin and Babani were the per- sons who had con- spired between t h e m s e l v e s and with an- other person outside Mal- ta to import a large con- signment of cannabis resin into Malta. The accused were also the persons who went to Xemxija on the 29th-30th of June 2010 to receive this drug consignment of 19 kilos and 412 grams of cannabis resin. Reference was also made to the testimony of court expert phar- macist Mario Mifsud who ex- plained that only 0.3 grams of cannabis were needed to make one joint. Thus the prosecution argued that this meant that ap- proximately 65,000 joints could be made from the drugs seized in this case. This clearly meant that this drug consignment was not for the exclusive use of the accused. The prosecution, amongst various other arguments, also brought to the attention of the ju- rors the fact that six years down the line, both the accused recalled more details than when they had been interrogated by the police on the day of the incident. This, among other discrepancies, clear- ly showed the lack of credibility of the two accused. Finally, the prosecution ar- gued that on the basis of all the evidence brought forward in this case, the accused Babani and Gambin should be found guilty of all the charges brought against them. Ms Justice Edwina Grima has now begun her final address to the jury, after which the 11 men and women will retire to deliber- ate. Lawyers Giannella Camilleri Busuttil and Nadia Attard are prosecuting. Lawyers Alfred Ab- ela, Franco Debono, and Mario Mifsud are appearing for Gambin, while lawyer Malcolm Mifsud is defending Babani. Godfrey Gambin, top first from right, with Adel Babani beneath him and defence lawyer Malcolm Mifsud at the bottom. 45-year-old man found dead in Sliema A 45-year-old Serbian man has been found dead in his apart- ment in Triq Nazarenu, Sliema. The case was reported to the police at around 14.15 pm, and they found the man's lifeless body after they broke into his apartment. A magisterial inquiry is under- way to determine the cause of the man's death.