Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/990836
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 6 JUNE 2018 2 NEWS MASSIMO COSTA A 46-year-old man from Sig- giewi was yesterday arraigned in court before Magistrate Neville Camilleri on accusa- tions of having corrupted a minor girl while he was en- trusted with her care, and of having participated in sexual activity with her. The court heard how, while the alleged crimes took place at different instances be- tween June 2017 and March 2018, the 14-year-old girl's mother had only been told of what had happened around a week ago. The accused, who plead- ed not guilty to the charges brought against him, lived in the same residence as the child and her mother. The prosecution objected to the defence's request for bail, on the grounds that the crime was serious in nature and car- ried a hefty prison sentence, that witnesses still had to give their testimony, and that there was the risk that the ac- cused approached his partner or other witnesses. The accused lived in Aus- tralia for some time and has family there, the prosecution said, which created the risk that he absconds from Malta. The defence argued that had the accused wanted to approach a witness, he could have done so in the past, since the crimes allegedly started being perpetrated a year ago. It also said that the man lived and worked in Malta and so would not seek to go to Aus- tralia. Having considered the na- ture of the alleged offences, and the prosecution's and de- fence's arguments, the court denied the request for bail and remanded the man in custody. It upheld a request for a ban on the publication of the names of the accused and al- leged victim. Inspector Guido Briffa pros- ecuted. Lawyers Alfred Abela and William Cuschieri were de- fence counsel. mcosta@mediatoday.com.mt Man accused of corrupting partner's 14-year-old daughter CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Borg Manche said the council was in the process of adopting bye-laws to regulate develop- ment in the locality. "We will impose fines that will be with- drawn from a sum of money that developers will have to de- posit at the bank, and when the deposit runs out we will seek a court injunction to freeze their assets," the mayor warned. He appealed to the head of the Malta Developers' Association Sandro Chetcuti to sit down and discuss a way forward be- cause residents had had enough of the abuse perpetrated on a daily basis by irresponsible contractors. "Sandro Chetcuti's reaction to the incident was disappoint- ing, to say the least. He implied the incident was the result of a personal feud between the con- tractor and Jeremy [Cardona]. This is not true and reducing the incident to a personal tiff is wrong," Borg Manche said, adding the incident was the last straw that broke the camel's back. He insisted it made little sense for the MDA to present a cheque of €150,000 to l-Istrina in an attempt to show how gen- erous developers were when residents were disregarded all year round. He called on developers to show respect towards resi- dents. "We are not against de- velopment but those who are earning big money should not do so on the back of the qual- ity of life of residents. A little respect goes a long way to ease the inconvenience." Speaking before the mayor, Cardona said the incident was a "heinous attack" but vowed to keep on working for the benefit of Gżira residents. "I will not be deterred, the sit- uation is out of control but we are here to tell contractors that Gżira does not belong to them; it belongs to us residents," Car- dona said. He highlighted some of the abuse perpetrated by devel- opers such as closing roads without the necessary permits, allowing uncovered trucks to travel through the locality and obstructing pavements. "At least from this incident something good has come out because now everyone has stopped to hear the plight of residents," Cardona said. The protest was attended, among others, by former PN leader Simon Busuttil, PN MP Karol Aquilina, former AD chairperson Arnold Cassola, Graffitti activists and environ- mental advocate Claire Bonello. Gzira protest in support of councillor who was almost run over by contractor, draws few people PN MPs Simon Busuttil and Karol Aquilina (second and first from right)