Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/726681
4 MAT THEW AGIUS MAGISTR ATE Ian Farrugia heard closing arguments in a case against a man accused of helping the daughter of murdered drug trafficker Mario Camilleri to steal at least Lm8,000 (€18,635) from her mother – a crime for which the daughter had escaped being prosecuted after her par- ents had forgiven her. In March 2005, Luke Farrugia – 17 years old at the time – had been accused of complicity in, and enjoying the proceeds of, the theft of cash from a money- box owned by Mario and Mona Camilleri, his girlfriend, Sarah's parents. Mario Camilleri, known as l- Imniehru, was murdered in Qa- jjenza in July 2013 together with his son Mario Jr. Jason Galea and his half-broth- er George, who are accused of the murder, are on bail as the compilation of evidence against them continues. Superintendent Carmelo Bar- tolo yesterday told the court how Farrugia came to be accused of complicity in aggravated theft from Mona Camilleri and re- ceiving stolen goods. Sarah Camilleri had been re- ported missing, together with an amount of cash which had been kept at home to pay for her father's bail. Bartolo said that when she was found, Camilleri had told police that she had been close friends with Luke Farrugia and had promised to help Farru- gia finance a car repair job. She had taken Lm6,000 (€14,000) "from over Lm30,000 (€70,000)" stashed in her par- ents' cash box, he said. The ac- cused had then asked her for a further Lm2,000 (€4,700), which she said she had also later pro- vided. They had then rented out a f lat belonging to Fais el Sallah, the stepfather of a certain Stacy Chircop. Stacy had requested Lm500 (€1,164) for putting them in touch, the girl had said. The accused had then allegedly gone on a spending spree, buy- ing everything from meals, to running shoes, to a pug puppy, the court was told. Police had searched the couple's residence and although the cash was not found, a constable had reported seeing a pug. "This puppy had not been men- tioned up to that point. When we went to check again, the pup- py was not found, although a lot of dog faeces was present," Bar- tolo said. El Sallah had told the police that he had no idea that an un- derage girl was in the f lat and had kicked them out when he be- came aware of the situation. He, too, confirmed that he had seen a puppy, as had his wife. Farrugia was subsequently questioned and categorically de- nied any involvement in the theft of the money. Inspector Louise Calleja had testified in 2011 that the accused had told her that he had seen the money but had de- nied involvement in the theft. Defence mauls witness' credibility Defence law yer Giannella De Marco savaged the girl's cred- ibility, saying Sarah Camilleri was the antithesis of a reliable witness and had given three completely different accounts to police before claiming to have acted on the accused's instruc- tions. "Her first version was that she had called her parents to say she was kidnapped by two girls and was being held in a room in Go- zo," De Marco said. "Next, she went to St. Julian's police station to say that she was scared of her parents. But at no point there did she say that she had stolen any money." Camilleri's second version of events was that she feared re- percussions from her family, said the veteran defence law yer. "What type of repercussions I do not know, but as a fact they had a turbulent relationship with Sa- rah and their reputation is what it is," she noted. "When Sarah was investigated as a suspect and interrogated, she came out with her third ver- sion, claiming that she had taken Lm6,000 and given the money to Stacy Chircop and El Sallah, who are the same people who were summoned by the police to testif y against Luke Farrugia, as rent." The law yer went to say that Sa- rah's mother, Mona Camilleri, had told them that her daughter disappeared on 8 March 2005. "But when she had made the report, she didn't report that she had Lm30,000 missing or sto- len, even though she later told us that she instantly noticed the money was missing." De Marco submitted that Sa- rah Camilleri had voluntarily re- turned, going to the police out of terror, as she had been violently abused by her parents and sib- lings in the past. The law yer said that this was not the first time that the daugh- ter had run away from home. Then, two or three weeks af- ter her daughter's return, Mona Camilleri had reported finding her cash box forced open and missing money. "She had told the court that she had so much money at home be- cause she had cashed a cheque, but nobody from the bank had been summoned to verif y the cheque or that it had ever been cashed," De Marco said. "The cash box allegedly broken into was never exhibited to the court either." She said that Mona Camilleri had testified that the money was there to pay for her husband's bail and said that there had been bail deposits of Lm10,000, Lm5,000 and Lm10,000, but the registrar of courts had been summoned and testified that there had been no such require- ment. "Mario Camilleri was in prison. He wasn't earning any money. No evidence that Mona Camilleri had been working was shown. Where did the money come from?" De Marco asked. The law yer pointed out that Sarah Camilleri had not corrob- orated her mother's claim that there had been Lm30,000 or that she had taken Lm30,000. "So even here, Mona Camilleri is not corroborated." The accused had not even ben- efited from the proceeds, De Marco continued. "Luke had bought her a dog called Cicca for Lm450 and a blue tracksuit using the money she had given him. He also paid off a Lm500 debt to his father. He bought some groceries for her because she was afraid her parents would see her outside and had bought her a mobile phone. All the versions are equally plausible and implausible, De Marco said. "What is certain is that lying comes easy to this girl." She pointed out that in the girl's second statement to police, she had implicated Chircop and El Sallah in the crime. "Are we going to believe them?" De Marco pointed out that Farrugia's statement was taken when he was a minor, without disclosure and without a law yer or parent present, a practice for which a recent European Court judgement had already criticised Malta. She rued the prosecution's fail- ure to present the cheque, train- ers or cash box from evidence. "It is very worrying when the police do not make the full in- vestigation." "How much of the money taken were hers or her sisters or her mother's? They all used the same cash box," De Marco said. "Luke had a pending case over the cost of the car accident, so how did she say she had paid for it? And the dog faeces found could have belonged to an Alsa- tian or a pug or a chihuahua, we don't know." The law yer said that Luke Far- rugia had been accused since 2005. "I don't believe there is evi- dence to prove that he was an accomplice in the theft or han- dling of stolen goods. With the lies that were said, I am not con- vinced," she said. The case was adjourned until January, when sentencing will be handed down. maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER 2016 News Call for Tenders The Wild Birds Regulation Unit within the Ministry for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change noties that electronic tenders are being accepted for the following: Collation of primary and secondary data on regular breeding and wintering bird species in the Maltese Islands and compilation of Article 12 report (Birds Directive) for the 2013-2018 reporting period, including Malta breeding Bird Atlas (2018) Tenders will be received until Tuesday 4 October 2016 (closing time: 10:00am). More information can be obtained on etenders.gov.mt. Mniehru's daughter "stole €70,000 cash from mother," court hears Mario Camilleri, known as l-Imniehru, was murdered in July 2013 together with his son Mario Jr. The accused had then allegedly gone on a spending spree, buying everything from meals, to running shoes, to a pug puppy, the court was told