Stricter bail terms for boxing champion

Maltese boxing champion Scott Dixon had his bail conditions restricted yesterday after the Attorney General filed an application asking for him to be remanded in custody.

Mr Dixon, 33, a former Commonwealth welterweight boxing champion, was brought to Malta from London on the strength of a European arrest warrant in connection with investigations into Malta's largest cannabis find in St Julians in September, when half-a-ton of the drug was found hidden in a hole and in a Madliena residence. Two Serbs, a British couple and a Maltese man were also arraigned in connection with this case.

Mr Dixon was granted bail last Thursday by Magistrate Miriam Hayman against a deposit of €15,000 and a personal guarantee of €25,000. The Attorney General then filed an application, asking for the bail to be revoked or for a curfew to be placed on the accused.

Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano changed the bail conditions and ordered that the previous deposit amount be raised to €19,000.

He also ordered that Mr Dixon sign the bail book at his local police station twice a day instead of once, as previously decreed, and that he would not leave his residence between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.