Weekly News highlights

Ashraf Kalifa Egmati, a 26-year-old Libyan, was on Sunday charged in court with the attempted murder of another Libyan, Hasan Kalifa Germag, 24, last Friday week in Bugibba. He was denied bail.

German sailor rescued

A German sailor was rescued by the Armed Forces of Malta after his boat capsized in St Paul's Bay last Sunday. The AFM patrol boat P-24 crew noticed the man in the water, clinging to his boat.

The exhausted German, who lives in Malta, was taken aboard and his boat towed ashore.

Chinese man charged with defrauding students

Six Chinese who were studying English in Malta were each defrauded €500 when they paid a Chinese man to issue documentation so they could continue their studies in Ireland.

Last week, Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani Grima heard three of the six Chinese explain how they had paid Song Zehao, whom they referred to as Peter. One of them, Wumin Xue, explained how they had paid Zehao the money to issue the documents necessary to obtain a visa for Ireland.

Xue was testifying in the compilation of evidence against Zehao, 23, who is pleading not guilty of defrauding Link School of English and six Chinese of €3,000, misappropriating the money and making a false declaration on and before February.

Man seriously injured

A man was seriously injured on Monday after a chaser he was using hit his leg. The man was working in a building in Triq l-Gharghar, Qormi.

Band club members charged over fracas

Thirteen men were charged with forming part of a crowd to commit a crime on Monday after a fight broke out between two Ghaxaq band clubs last Friday week.

Seven of them were from St Joseph's Band Club and the other six from the Santa Maria Band Club.

Stephen Abdilla, 18, from St Joseph's band club, who was charged alone, pleaded not guilty to inciting a crowd to commit a crime, forming part of a crowd of over 10 people to commit a crime, disobeying police, acting without a licence and breaching the peace.

He was also charged with driving recklessly in a one-way street. The remaining 12 men were also charged with hurling objects and starting a fight during which a police constable was hurt.

All men were granted bail against a Lm200 deposit and a personal guarantee of Lm1,800.

New 'Labour' movement launched

The Popular Labour Movement was announced during the Sette Giugno ceremony in Valletta by lawyer Anna Mallia on Tuesday. Sporting the Malta Labour Party initials - MLP (Moviment Laburista Popolari).

This new movement, which aims to attract Labour Party supporters, will be launched soon with a pledge to stick up for workers and serve "disillusioned" Labourites.

Charged over big heroin find

Silvio Buttigieg, 32, of Cospicua, on Wednesday was charged with conspiring to deal in some seven kilos of heroin. He was also charged with trafficking in the drug.

Buttigieg, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, was remanded in custody. His arraignment before Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani Grima followed one of the biggest drug hauls in recent years when the police seized seven kilos of heroin from a van near Ghadira on Monday morning.

Judges give police killer reason to reform

Chief Justice Vincent DeGaetano, Mr Justice Joseph Filletti and Mr Justice David Scicluna, who presided over the Court of Criminal Appeal, on Thursday ruled that it was right that Andy Calleja, 24, of Zabbar, who confessed to killing a police officer in cold blood, should be sentenced to life in prison. However, they felt the person should be given the opportunity to reform if and when that became possible.

Calleja was jailed for life last year when he pleaded guilty to the murder of Roger Debattista, a police constable who was carrying out guard duties at the Bank of Valletta branch in Qormi when a hold-up took place on November 12, 2001.

Calleja, who had been charged with another three men - Mario Borg, Ian Galdes and Mark George Falzon - had confessed to shooting Debattista through a glass door and then stepping inside and firing the fatal shot.

Beijing embassy staff cleared but replaced

A police investigation has found no irregularities or criminal intent in the way Maltese diplomats in China processed visas, the Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday. However, all three diplomatic staff at the Beijing embassy will be changed because the credibility of the processing has been "irreversibly prejudiced", the ministry said.

Greek charged with fraud

A Greek businessman on Thursday was charged with organised crime and defrauding five companies of a total of €423,000, which is about Lm181,000.

Alexandros Konstantinos Anastasiou, 36, who resides in Wardija, pleaded not guilty to having organised or financed a group of two or more people with the intent to commit a crime and conspiracy.

He also pleaded not guilty to obtaining money by false pretences when he defrauded Tower Manner Ltd, Acorn Distributions Ltd and Ambrose Muscat, Grimax Ltd, Ready-to-Move-In Ltd and Modern Image Ltd. His request for bail was refused.

Stevedore wins over Lm8,000 damages

A man injured in an accident at the Freeport in 2000 on Thursday was awarded over Lm8,000 damages by Mr Justice Tonio Mallia sitting in the First Hall of the Civil Court.

Alfred Pace, a stevedore, said he was injured on May 26, 2000, while working at the Freeport for his employer MJK Transport Ltd.

His right hand had been crushed by the pump of a side loader and he asked the court to condemn his employer to make good for damages he had sustained.

Man badly injured in fire

A 28-year-old man was seriously injured on Thursday evening when a fire broke out in the Mqabba garage where he was working.

The man was rushed to hospital where he was certified to be in a critical condition, which then stabilised.