Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1540360
MATTHEW Joseph Schembri, 40, was sentenced on Tuesday to two years and six months in prison for orchestrating an as- sault on a jogger in Sliema. He had been arraigned in June 2022 and previously de- nied charges of complicity and attempted grievous bodily harm, and actual slight bodily harm in connection with the case. Schembri is also the devel- oper behind the Kordin con- struction site which collapsed in December 2022, claiming the life of JeanPaul Sofia. He is facing separate charges linked to the Sofia case. JAPANESE national Okamura Satoshi, who plead guilty to a se- ries of cat killings across several localities was jailed for two years on Tuesday morning. The two-year prison sentence is the longest ever given to someone charged with animal cruelty. Satoshi had admitted to animal cruelty charges, as well as slight- ly injuring police officers. The convicted man was al- so handed a 40-year ban from keeping animals, and will be de- ported back to Japan once he has completed his prison sentence. During the last sitting, the prosecution outlined how Sa- toshi had told his probation of- ficer that cats are like gold-dig- ging women. The issue was first brought to light on 17 June on Facebook after cats were attacked and killed in the area of St Alfons Street, Our Saviour Street, and St Charles Street in Sliema. The arrest took place at around 3am on Triq Manuel Dimech in Sliema following several days of surveillance by police. The sus- pect had been identified based on descriptions gathered during the investigation and from secu- rity camera footage. WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT WEDNESDAY EDITION €1.00 WEDNESDAY • 15 OCTOBER 2025 • ISSUE 962 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY Sliema cat killer handed two-year prison term Court throws out Maltco appeal over gaming exclusivity dispute CONTINUES ON PAGE 4 Magisrate hands down longest ever prison term for animal cruelty THE Court of Appeal has reject- ed an attempt by Maltco Lotteries Limited to extend its monopoly be- yond the National Lottery, ruling that the company's exclusive rights only covered the Lotto, Super 5 and Grand Lottery. The decision closes a long-running legal battle between the lottery op- erator, the Maltese government, and the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), over the scope of Maltco's 2012 li- cence and concession. CONTINUES ON PAGE 2 MAYA GALEA mgalea@mediatoday.com.mt Photos of the mutilated cats were shared on Facebook Matthew Schembri Sofia developer jailed for ordering assault on former father-in-law MAYA GALEA mgalea@mediatoday.com.mt CONTINUES ON PAGE 2 ĦALEY XUEREB hxuereb@mediatoday.com.mt