Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/695268
2 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 22 JUNE 2016 News CALL FOR TENDERS FOR THE LEASING OF MULTIFUNCATIONAL PRINTERS PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARIAT FOR THE EU PRESIDENCY 2017 AND EU FUNDS of the Council of the 2017 Maltese Presidency European Union 2017 MALTESE PRESIDENCY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EU The tender documents are available to download online from www.etenders.gov.mt The Parliamentary Secretariat for EU Presidency 2017 and EU Funds, within the Ministry for European Affairs and Implementation of the Electoral Manifesto, notifies that a call for tenders for the leasing of multifunctional printers to be used in relation to Malta's Presidency of the Council of the EU 2017 has been issued. Two remanded in custody for scrapyard theft MAT THEW AGIUS TWO men have been remanded in custody after they appeared in court in connection with the discovery of a van full of car bat- teries, allegedly stolen from a scrapyard. Darren Brincat, 38, and Alex Mallia, 36, both from Qormi, were arraigned under arrest be- fore Magistrate Audrey Demi- coli yesterday. Inspector Roderick Agius charged the men with the ag- gravated theft of €2,900-worth of car batteries, from which cop- per would then be extracted and sold. The two men are also ac- cused of relapsing. Brincat alone is also accused of breaching a probation order. Asked by the court what they would be pleading, Brincat re- plied that "it depends on what [I would be pleading guilty to]," while Mallia launched into an explanation of how it could not have been he, before being stopped by the court. Law yer Patrick Valentino asked the police inspector whether he had footage of the theft taking place from the scrapyard and whether the men had been iden- tified. Inspector Agius replied that the footage was indistinct, but that the two men had been identified by other means. The defence requested bail, but this was objected to by the pros- ecuting officer. He explained that one reason for this objec- tion was that the principal wit- ness in this case recently had a chance encounter with the ac- cused which had led to an ar- gument. Bail was also objected to, in Brincat's case, in order to safeguard his health. The police investigation had uncovered the fact that Brincat had been placed on probation in 2015, said the inspector, adding that the man's probation officer had expressed concern at the man's drug use. Valentino countered this, ar- guing that the fact that the ac- cused had not admitted to the crime during questioning did not mean that they had not co- operated with the police. With respect to Brincat, he said the man had a drug problem. "Not at all, I just do a little on the week- end " chimed in the accused. The court denied bail to both accused, who continued to pro- test their innocence to the the police inspector as they were be- ing led away. Man charged over stolen mobile and 1.7g of cannabis MATTHEW AGIUS A 25-year-old Eritrean national has been remanded in custody after being arraigned in court on charges of theft and drug posses- sion. Awet Estifanos Weldetinsae was arrested at around 2:45 am on Sunday after a police patrol in Paceville spotted him acting sus- piciously. Inspector Elton Taliana told magistrate Audrey Demicoli that when he spotted the police car approaching, Weldetinsae was seen to place something under a parked car. The officers, deciding to go over and have a word with the Eritrean, found a stolen €400 Samsung mobile phone and 1.7 grams of cannabis under the vehicle. Weld- entinsae told police that the ob- jects were not his. He was charged with theft, re- ceiving stolen goods and drug possession. Lawyer Patrick Valentino en- tered a plea of not guilty on behalf of the accused. No bail was requested at this stage as the accused had no fixed address, but the defence reserved the right to request it at a later stage. Lawyer charged with threatening estranged wife MATTHEW AGIUS A 46-year-old lawyer found him- self in the dock yesterday, accused of threatening to kill his estranged wife. The man, who cannot be named by order of the court, was charged with making the threats on 16 June when the estranged wife picked him up from the airport on his return after undergoing surgery abroad. Inspector Godwin Scerri ex- plained to Magistrate Audrey Demicoli that the couple were un- dergoing separation proceedings and that the police had received a number of reports of domestic vio- lence from the woman. The decision to arrest the lawyer was made after the police were told that he had threatened the woman with her life. "The threats have escalated and he has threatened to either kill her or get someone to kill her," the in- spector explained. Defence lawyer Veronique Dalli highlighted that there were no witnesses, only allegations at this stage. The accused stood up in the dock at one point during the arraign- ment, to insist that he had only told his wife to stop emailing him, an assertion the woman appeared to disagree with. The parties live next door to each other and have three children: two teenaged boys lived with the ac- cused, the younger child with the mother. The boys were present for yesterday's sitting and chatted with the accused before the court was in session, also speaking with their mother after the arraignment was over. The magistrate chided the ac- cused and his wife, telling them that they are adults and should know better than to behave in this way, out of respect for their chil- dren if nothing else. Dalli requested bail, which the prosecution did not object to as long as a protection order is issued. Bail was granted against a per- sonal guarantee of €2,500. A pro- tection order was issued ordering the two parties to communicate solely through their lawyers, for the ongoing separation proceed- ings. The court upheld the defence's request to ban the identification of the parties, in order to protect the young children. Yacht owners file court protest over Ta' Xbiex flea market MAT THEW AGIUS TW ENTY two yacht owners filed a judicial protest yester- day, calling on the authorities to revoke a permit for an open- air f lea market that has start- ed being held at the Ta' Xbiex yacht marina. The plaintiffs are com- plaining that either Transport Malta or the Gzira local council, if not both, have granted permission to a num- ber of hawkers to hold a weekly open-air f lea market in the yacht ma- rina. The boat owners claim that the market stalls block both the main road through the marina and access to their craft. Public parking spaces are also being occupied by the hawkers, they claim. Law yers David Camilleri and Joseph Gatt, signing the protest, point out that Trans- port Malta is failing to fulfil its duties under the Yachting Centres Regulations, which entrust Transport Malta with the preservation of good order in the yachting centres, the prevention of pollution and the quality standards of the fa- cilities offered by the yachting centres. Not only is the market not contributing to the mainte- nance of good order in the area, but it was compromis- ing the safety and security of the area, according to the protest. Refuse and debris left behind af- ter the market is held " brings the already low standard of the facili- ties at the marina to an even lower level," the protest reads. Any permit issued by the local council, allow- ing the hawkers to hold their market there, was "clearly il- legal... as the area falls exclu- sively under the authority of Transport Malta and it is only this authority that can grant permits for the area." The boat owners claim that the market stalls block both the main road through the marina and access to their craft