The mayor of St Paul's Bay has been awarded Lm1,500 damages after a magistrate ruled that an article published in The Malta Independent was libellous and defamatory.

Mayor Paul Bugeja had filed a suit in the Magistrates' Court against the former editor of The Malta Independent Steve Chetcuti and journalist Matthew Xuereb.

Mr Bugeja also filed the suit against the manager of Public Cleansing Cooperative (KIP) John Micallef, whose comments were quoted in the article.

The mayor claimed that the article, entitled Lm145,000 Worth Of Tenders Lost - Cooperative Claims Irregularities, published on October 11, 2002 was libellous and defamatory as it alleged that he was involved in the irregular allocation of a tender.

After evaluating evidence brought before him Magistrate Dennis Montebello ruled that the article was libellous in nature.

The magistrate upheld the mayor's request to find Mr Chetcuti and Mr Xuereb responsible for damages but turned down his request in respect of Mr Micallef who denied his involvement in the publication of the article and its content.

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