Monday, 25th August 2008 - 13:39CET

Il-Porporina accused over Burmarrad theft

Alfred Bugeja, 52, also known as Il-Porporina, was this morning remanded in custody at Mt Carmel Hospital after pleading not guilty to having stolen cash from a lotto receiver in Burmarrad on Saturday evening. He was also accused of relapsing.

Anthony Zammit, known as Is-Sej, was separately charged with the same incident as well as relapsing.

They are alleged to have stolen two bags containing cash from the lotto receiver's car. Their haul was under €2,329.

Mr Zammit was granted bail against a personal guarantee of €1,000.

The court took into consideration that Mr Bugeja has another two pending cases and is out on bail for both of them.

In a separate case, Dexter Bezzina, 21, of Valletta this morning pleaded guilty to trafficking in ecstasy, possession of 71 ecstasy pills and vandalising a show window of The Gram Jewellery in Valletta.

Magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna remanded him in custody until judgement later on this week.

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Article © Allied Newspapers Ltd., printed on Sunday, November 22, 2009. This article is for personal use only, and should not be distributed.

Comments

Joseph Attard (on 27/8/08)

Laws need to be changed or Magistrates should resign. Magistrates are there to protect the citizen.
Any way we are doing fine in trying to make Malta...an island of choice.....ooops for illegal immigrants and criminals!

Mark Bonello (on 27/8/08)

@Dr.Saliba.

Spot on Dr.Saliba :-)

Joseph Schembri (on 26/8/08)

@Joseph E Briffa. How can you mention capital punishment as if it were something desirable? I think we (Europe) are the only little bit on the map of the globe where cold blooded murder by the state has been abolished. It has taken us centuries if not millennia to reach this point of civilization and no wonder we are inundated with wave after wave of desperate people seeking refuge here.

Joseph Schembri (on 26/8/08)

@ DR. Saliba. Anyone awaiting trial is assumed innocent and cannot be called a 'criminal'. Also If I were a lawyer I would take umbrage at your subtle suggestion that lawyers are paid by their clients from money 'earned' through criminal activities. It amounts to calling them money launderers doesn't it?

Dr Francis Saliba (on 25/8/08)

Now let's be reasonable.

If criminals awaiting trial are kept in prison and if they are not allowed to "earn" some money how would lawyers get paid by their clients?

Charles Micallef (on 25/8/08)

Stop Press, Correctional Facility's Appointments:

It has just been annouced that in addition to the appointment of Leli Il-Bully as a trustee-go between the inmates and the Prison Director, Il-Porporina has now been appointed as a wages clerk directly responsible for staff salaries.

The Government Gazzette will soon annouce a recruitment drive for general prison vacancies, the idea is to promote from within, the vacancies will include trusted security officers, applications including a copy of Police Conduct which will suffice as a CV, should be marked for the attention of Leli il-Bully !

Joseph E Briffa (on 25/8/08)

I would have thought that the administrators of justice do keep in mind that a relapser hasn't learnt anything and will never change. So he/she should be remanded in prison FOR LIFE, once we don't have capital punishment. Of course such people will strike again, and again, and again if they are left at large, isn't it obvious? That's their way of life. I am afraid we are being strong with the weak and weak with the strong. We are very lenient with hardened criminals and then very strict with a poor chap smoking some hashish. It's about time that justice administrators act more rationally.

R.Borg (on 25/8/08)

A case of only in Malta. On the other hand we have 4 wardens who are being accused of trying to keep discipline in prison. How can that be?

Jean Paul Fiott (on 25/8/08)

Lotto receivers are too easy a target for criminals looking for large sums of cash. I think it is about time that Maltco considers implementing a system in which gamblers can use paperless money to settle transactions.

L Buhagiar (on 25/8/08)

Out on bail on two crimes and stealing again. Why was he on bail if he has committed other crimes. Same old judicial system. This brings again in mind the Sandro Schembri Adami cases with three suspended sentences. Hurrah!!!

Marika Calleja (on 25/8/08)

Well done to the Maltese system. Whenever i read about incidents like these and the court's outcome, I start wondering if we are living in a dream world. Opps I mean in a criminal's dream world!! To the victims, it's a nightmare. These people shoud be jailed and not commiting crimes while on bail. On bail again and again and again??? What a sick joke.

Ray Bartolo (on 25/8/08)

It's time that lotto receivers will be guarded by security guards while they are transporting money. Its not safe to travel with large sums of money.

Moreover I plead the government to consider new corrective measures that these offenders deserve. We can't keep listening to such news and then reading that... 'Il-Porporina, was this morning remanded in custody at Mt Carmel Hospital after pleading not guilty '. So he decides whether he is to be punished or not...

Michael Mifsud (on 25/8/08)

Great news! So what would the court have decided if the haul had been > €2,329? What about the trauma level inflicted on this lady lotto receiver by these two honorable gentlemen? I am quite certain that since the haul was less than €2,329 she must be feeling much more relaxed about this whole episode... Something does not click in our system! Relapsers on bail? Remanded in custody at Mt Carmel Hospital? Who exactly are we kidding? Oh I don't know... By the way the victim of this incident happens to be a close relative of mine...and the amount stolen had absolutely no influence on her trauma level...it was still sky high!

Adrian Fabri (on 25/8/08)

Il Porporina strikes again.......Too much democracy will ruin same democracy my friends!!

Ronnie Gauci (on 25/8/08)

Our Courts are to blame for the semi-anarchal situation the country is in, discipline doesn't exist at all. You can do whatever you want without ever going to prison. You have to kill or traffic drugs to have a minor chance of being imprisoned.

E. Schembri (on 25/8/08)

Why is bail granted for a relapser?

It is obvious that he has not learnt his lesson and can buy his way out.

And why is bail granted for less than half the prize. At least he should have been only allowed bail against a personal guarantee of at least €10,000 making the crime a high risk attempt that will force many to reconsider before committing a crime.

No wonder these people continue to commit crimes. It is worth the risk and the court only gives them a slap on the hand!

Same old Malta!

Andrew Gatt (on 25/8/08)

"The court took into consideration that Mr Bugeja has another two pending cases and is out on bail for both of them."

Strike three..............and STILL out! Boqq. The mind boggles.....

Il-Porporina accused over Burmarrad theft

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