Police await forensic test results on speedboats

The police are awaiting the results of forensic tests on specimens lifted off confiscated speedboats in connection with last week's drowning of Chinese nationals off Sicily, a spokesman for the Justice and Home Affairs Ministry said yesterday.

As investigations into the case continue, the police have released a number of suspects they arrested in recent days on grounds of insufficient evidence.

Six Chinese and Mongolian nationals died last week after they were reportedly forced at gunpoint to jump into very cold waters 15 nautical miles off the Sicilian shore of Punta Secca, close to Pozzallo. Three other immigrants are still missing.

Six survivors rescued by the Italian coastguard claimed they had been abandoned by a speedboat with two Maltese men at the helm and that the boat had left from Malta.

Chinese Ambassador Yang Guirong was yesterday morning seen entering the Foreign Ministry where he met permanent secretary Cecilia Attard Pirotta to discuss the tragedy.

After the meeting, which took about 45 minutes, Mr Yang told The Times the Chinese Embassy was much concerned about the situation. He said the Maltese authorities had agreed to inform the embassy about any developments.

The Foreign Ministry on Monday asked the police to carry out a fresh investigation into the operations and the behaviour of a Maltese diplomat at the Maltese Embassy in Beijing after allegations on the issue of visas were made in The Malta Independent on Sunday.

An investigation had already been launched last December after Labour's foreign affairs spokesman Leo Brincat alleged there had been "foul play" in the issuing of visas.

However, no foul play or irregularities in the issue of visas have been identified so far, the government said.

Mr Brincat said yesterday that if investigations had been carried out properly in the first instance, fresh allegations would not have surfaced about embassy officials in the press.

Meanwhile, in a case unconnected with last week's incident, the police are still waiting for their Italian counterparts to send over the photographs of 46 Chinese nationals who, Italy maintains, should be taken back by Malta according to a bilateral agreement.

Two groups of Chinese were apprehended landing illegally in Sicily on March 2 and March 12 and Italy says sufficient evidence exists to show they had left from Malta. Besides declarations made by the immigrants, the Italian authorities cite text messages and phone call records found on cell phones as well as items and cigarettes bought from Malta.

The Maltese authorities, however, say the names given by the immigrants to the Italians do not tally with the records in the possession of the Malta police. For this reason, Malta has asked for photographs of the Chinese nationals in order to compare them with the photographs accompanying visa applications.

The Justice and Home Affairs Ministry and the Italian Embassy yesterday confirmed Italy had so far not sent the photos.