Tony Abela rejects Sant's claims

Parliamentary Secretary Tony Abela yesterday denied allegations made on Sunday by Opposition Leader Alfred Sant of making use of the Office of the Prime Minister to carry out his private practice as a notary.

Dr Abela branded Dr Sant's allegations malicious. Dr Sant on Sunday circulated to the press a copy of a power of attorney document signed by Dr Abela, dated April 2006, bearing an official OPM stamp.

Dr Abela said when contacted the document proved nothing, adding that he simply acted as a witness, something which has nothing to do with the fact that he is a notary. "Anyone, who has a university degree could act as a witness in such a case," he said, pointing out that he used the OPM stamp simply to identify himself.

He said that in his duties as parliamentary secretary and an MP he is in constant contact with people from different localities who turn to him when they encounter some difficulty with some government department. "It is not fair that Dr Sant portrays these signatures (on the distributed document) as if they were part of my profession as a notary. That is a blatant lie," he said.