Thursday, 28th August 2008

Ministry official charged with assaulting warden

A First Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was yesterday arraigned on charges of assaulting, threatening and causing slight injuries to a local warden.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera heard Arsalan Ali Hussein Al-Shinawi, 43, of Swieqi plead not guilty to violently resisting local warden Elvin Debono on Tuesday morning in San Ġwann.

He also denied breaching the peace, disregarding orders and littering.

Mr Al-Shinawi was granted bail against a personal guarantee of €2,000.

Police Inspector Bernard Spiteri prosecuted.

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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

Joe Tabone-Adami (on 28/8/08)

A very un-diplomatic way of someone making the headlines, I would say!!

Nigel Lawrence (on 28/8/08)

Hey- he was allegedly littering and he got busted.

Stephanie Mizzi (on 28/8/08)

Is there nothing happening in this country that we have to report something so silly ? And so what that he is a ministry official. Why is it so important? Everyone is human after all. Well, yes, a warden can more often than not make you lose your temper and if you are having a bad day then, yes, you have the urge of assulting him or her. I am sorry to say but some wardens do seem to take pride and have the pleasure of frustrating people on even the smallest and most ridiculous of cases. The authorities should pay close attention to their performance.

Daniel Bonello (on 28/8/08)

I ask myself ... what is it about this story that is so news worthy to deserve so much attention? It already came as a surprise that this story was reported as "Breaking News" yesterday by this on-line newspaper.

By all means, I deplore any act that breaches law, and agree that reporters should carry out their duty.

What I cannot come to terms with is why this article seems to place so much emphasis on the indivdual.

Is it because the individual concerned is a Ministry official (who in this case seems to hold a middle-executive position)? Or is it because the individual does not seem to carry a typical Maltese name?

I wonder ... if it had to be the author of this article to have done the same mishappenings, would the title read: "News reporter charged with assaulting warden".

Under normal circumstances the title would read: "Man charged with assaulting warden" and there is no mention of the professional background of the individual!!!!