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NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 16 MAY 2018 4 JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Authority's ap- peal tribunal has turned down appeals presented by NGOs against the approval of four high- rise towers at Mriehel. The tribunal, which recently revoked a permit for the Towns- quare high-rise in Sliema, turned down arguments presented by NGOs on the traffic and visual impact of project and the lack of a social impact assessment. Last February, developers of controversial Quad high-rises in Mriehel applied for a lateral ex- tension to the project despite the fact that the case is still under ap- peal. The Mriehel Towers project consists of four cylindrical tower blocks, comprising 16, 17, 19 and 14 storeys, sitting on top of five basement levels. The project is to include a 975sq.m supermarket, an 840sq.m gym, a 700sq.m show- room, 1,155sq.m of retail facili- ties, four catering establishments and 930sq.m for conference facilities. Plans earmark a floor space of 33,000sq.m for office space. The application for the mega development was presented in October 2014 by the Tumas and Gasan groups, which are also partners in the ElectroGas pow- er station consortium, on a site adjacent to that of the present Gasan head office on the Mriehel bypass. Mriehel was not included among the localities that will be considered for high-rise build- ings of over 10 storeys, when a policy regulating building heights was first issued for public consultation in November 2013. This meant that the public never had any chance to comment on the choice of this site. But then Mriehel was added to the list just before the policy was approved in June. The plan- ning ombudsman had disagreed with the procedure. The project was approved in August 2016. On that occasion lawyer Claire Bonello on behalf of all envi- ronmental NGOs questioned the procedure used to include Mriehel as a high-rise zone. But this did not stop a nervous Planning Authority board from approving four high-rise towers belonging to the Gasan and Tu- mas group in 2016. The two leading business groups are also partners in the Electro Gas consortium chosen to construct the new Delimara power station. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt NGOs' appeal rejected as Mriehel high-rise gets go-ahead Evidence clears man of domestic violence, marital rape MATTHEW AGIUS A 21-year-old man from Tarxien has been declared innocent of marital rape and brutal domes- tic violence, after a court heard a number of witnesses, including doctors, say that the alleged as- saults did not take place. Inspector Jurgen Vella charged the man with raping his wife on multiple occasions at the couple's home – on some occasions in the presence of their young son. He was also accused of illegal arrest, attempted grievous bodily harm and causing slight injury to the woman, as well as carrying a knife in public without a licence and threatening his wife. The woman had gone to the Paola police station in January 2012, barefoot and carrying her 14-month-old son, to report that her husband had threatened her with a dagger and had punched her in the face repeatedly. She claimed that the man had turned violent when she refused to join him on a 3am fishing trip, retrieving a dagger from the kitchen and trying to stab her. She had dodged the blade, she said, but the man had then cast it aside and punched her several times. The woman told the court that she had fled the house bare- foot, going through nearby fields in a bid to avoid him following her. The police had sent the woman to a polyclinic for examination, where no bruising, bleeding, mis- alignment of teeth or restriction of jaw movement was found. The couple had been married for eight months and had known each other for around two years. The woman alleged that her hus- band was cruel and violent to- wards both her and their son. She also alleged that he would force her to have sex with him against her will, sometimes handcuffing her to the bed, and had threat- ened that she would "end up in a wheelchair" if she went to the po- lice. The police had also sent for the husband, who explained that his wife had run away from home with their son. Police seized a dagger that had been stuck to the fridge and a sword from the couple's box room. A number of penknives were taken from the accused's car. During interrogation he had denied ever being violent to- wards his wife. The accused had explained that on the day of the report, he had argued with his wife over who was going to buy groceries. Hours later, she had gone to the kitchen to prepare bread for his fishing trip the next day and had disappeared with the baby. He also denied ever having forced himself on his wife or lock- ing her in at home and taking her phone, as she had alleged. In fact, he said, his mother would deliver groceries to the woman, who would open the door for her. The accused explained that the dagger had been bought as army surplus for which no licence was required and that he used the penknives in his car when he would go fishing. Magistrate Audrey Demicoli, having seen the woman testify on a number of occasions, said she had serious doubts about her credibility. Her claims were not backed up by medical evidence and nobody had noticed any signs of injury on both the woman and baby, said the court. It was unlikely that she would see the accused repeatedly beat the child and not tell anyone about it. The handcuffs exhib- ited in court were clearly toys and could not have been used to tie her to the headboard during a rape, said the court. The woman had also attempted to reconcile with the accused while he was on bail in the hope of saving the marriage and had admitted to misleading the court, albeit out of fear of the accused. Having seen all this, magistrate Demicoli declared the man not guilty of all charges and released him. Inspector Jurgen Vella pros- ecuted. Lawyer Lucio Sciriha was defence counsel. Lawyer Jona- than Spiteri appeared as parte civile for the woman. Joseph Muscat says relations with Italy were always excellent, looks forward to meeting new Italian leader MASSIMO COSTA PRIME Minister Joseph Muscat yesterday said Mal- ta will have to wait and see how matters will unfold in Italy before worrying about the possible impact its next government could have on migration flows to the island. His comments come as the likelihood that Italy could adopt a harsher stand on migration – after coalition talks between Lega Nord and Movimento Cinque Stelle to form a government resulted in broad agreement – seems high. Asked by this newspaper whether Malta was prepared to deal with a possible larger influx of immigrants to its shores, the Prime Minister said we would first have wait for the Italian government to be formed, for a Prime Min- ister to be appointed and for the parties in government to detail how they would be putting into practice the mi- gration policy they promised to adopt. "We should not worry about something premature- ly," he said, "We always had excellent relations with Italy, regardless of who was in gov- ernment." "I look forward to meeting whoever is appointed Prime Minister and discussing the future," he added. mcosta@mediatoday.com.mt Prime Minister: 'wait and see' over Italy's next government and migration