Claudia Calleja
Victim 'was playing around with the switch'
The parcel bomb that maimed a 60-year-old man in Qormi last week exploded after the victim fiddled with the switch of the suspicious package "probably out of curiosity", police sources said.
After receiving the parcel on Tuesday, Philip Cini opened it and saw that inside there was a hollowed out book that acted as a casing for a contraption with a battery pack and switch.
Mr Cini, who was in his kitchen at the time, "played around with the switch", probably out of curiosity, before the parcel blew up, sources said.
As a result of the explosion, Mr Cini lost his left hand and had to undergo an operation because of serious injuries to the left side of his torso.
Until yesterday evening he was still battling for his life at Mater Dei Hospital's Intensive Therapy Unit after his condition turned for the worse on Christmas Day.
The police are still trying to establish the motive behind the crime directed at Mr Cini, who works at his brother's food packaging company, C. Cini & Sons.
Explosives experts have said that anybody with a basic sense of electronics, access to the internet and a lot of guts would have been able to manufacture a parcel bomb similar to the one that maimed Mr Cini.
Such bombs have a basic circuit similar to a torch but instead of the bulb the circuit is connected to a detonator, which is then inserted into the explosive material. Hitting the switch would have caused the explosion.
Police sources said the package, addressed "To Philip from Doris", was delivered on Tuesday morning and Mr Cini's wife found it behind the door of their Qormi home and took it upstairs to the kitchen.
When Mr Cini arrived at about 1.30 p.m., he unwrapped it and the bomb soon exploded.
His wife, who had warned him not to open the parcel, and eight-year-old grandson escaped uninjured despite standing close to him.
The blast damaged the aluminium balcony door and shattered the glass panes of the windows in the kitchen. Investigations have excluded the possibility that the parcel was delivered by postal services.
The blast rekindled memories of the politically motivated parcel-bomb attack which killed Karin Grech around Christmas time 32 years ago today.
21 Comments
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Joe Fenech
Dec 30th 2009, 20:04
WARNING: If ever you get a book with a switch, don't play with it.
silvio bonavia
Dec 29th 2009, 22:16
@CFalzon. I'm sorry to tell you that the gunpowder you refered to is of the shot guns which as I told you is slow burning and by no means you can use it as an explosive maybe you are refering to blackpowder which you have to have a good know ledge to do it,also what I referd to is that you said it can be obtained easily or am I wrong?
Joe Xuereb
Dec 29th 2009, 20:50
Philip Cini is said to be a nice man. I do not doubt it. Maybe too nice for his own good. If only he had been a bit more astute, a bit sharper, and smarter. It is strange that whoever sent it decided, in their wisdom(?), to include a sender, ie Doris, who I understand is Philip's wife. She it was who picked up the parcel, took it to her husband who proceeded to open it. Surely, she would have said it was not from her. Surely, he would have asked her. She was standing next to him. So, both very curious, and excited(?) (we're all like children at the thought of receiving a parcel), Philip proceeded to open the damned thing. As they say, 'curiosity killed the cat'. I wish Mr. Cini better and the family to pull through this horrendous incident. And may it be a lesson to the rest of us.
C Falzon
Dec 29th 2009, 19:22
@Silvio Bonavia, with all due respect it could be you that is 'ruling out of ignorance'. A bomb can very easily be made out of gunpowder and more so out of the propellant found in shotgun cartridges (which is not exactly gunpowder). If your knowledge is an example to go by then it is encouraging that the knowledge of how to do it may not be as widespread as I may have initially thought. I do not know what allegations you are referring to as I have made none, maybe you will be kind enough to indicate which part of my comment you may have interpreted as an allegation. I will not take up your 'sfida' as I have no need or desire to buy explosives. I also never said that they can be bought without the required licence - what I did say is that thousands of people do in fact already have the necessary licence to buy explosives. I am also asking (not challenging or anything) whether I am correct in stating that one needs a hunting licence to buy shotgun cartridges.
silvio bonavia
Dec 29th 2009, 15:20
Please C Falzon don' t rule out of ignorance, gunpowder can't be used for explosives as its a slow burning fuel i.e it has to be in a barrel of a gun to explode in one direction only,also I personally nisfidak to buy ammo for pistols without you having the proper licence for it ,So please before making any allegations be sure what you say as We have enough misjudgements on our heads,my condolence goes for the victim and family
C Falzon
Dec 29th 2009, 12:13
Apart from it being easy to make homemade explosives it is even easier for one to buy them from a shop. For example hunters buy explosives all the time - it would only take the explosive removed from a few 'skratac' to make an explosion of that magnitude. Unfortuantely all one needs is a hunter's licence to buy buy them, and I'm not even sure of that - maybe someone can confirm. (before anyone yells at me - no I am NOT using this as an excuse to ban hunting!)
As with many other things that can be used as weapons, explosives are unfortunately very easy to obtain (or make). Knives or even cars can be equally lethal. It is only marginally more difficult to get hold of explosives.
It is not the weapons (improvised or otherwise) that kill people but the people who use (or rtaher misuse) them.
Making weapons unavailable would certainly help but unfortunatley it is not really possible.
R Gatt
Dec 29th 2009, 08:44
@ h Galea - I think you should say no more as you do not know the facts. What made you decide that Maltapost delivered the parcel?
Ramon Casha
Dec 29th 2009, 06:34
Why oh why would anyone fiddle around with a package which he KNEW was sent by someone pretending to be his wife, especially after he opened it and found a hollowed book containing wires and switches and stuff?
Maltapost has nothing to do with it - whatever their failings they do not just leave parcels on people's doorsteps.
As for making explosives, yes it can be done. You can find instructions and ingredients on the internet, and with some decent computer literacy you can get them anonymously. Besides, those explosives are also used for legitimate means, so someone who knows how they are manufactured for quarries can also manufacture them for criminal acts. Incidentally, how strictly do quarries control access to their explosives? Would a quarry operator notice if a small quantity went missing?
As for getting hold of them, if people are able to get hold of illegal firearms, I'm sure they can also get hold of explosives.
George Poitier
Dec 28th 2009, 20:04
Maybe an advertising campaign not to open or touch any suspicious parcels should help. Like the ones ISP's and Banks now carry on their website warning people about revealing passwords and personal information. Maybe Maltapost with Government subsidy could help spread the message. "Warning - Do not approach unknown packages or any parcels that seem suspicious". And a helpful number to call.
James A. Tyrrell
Dec 28th 2009, 16:24
@Jimmy Magro. As I said Jimmy the materials required can be bought in most shops. You do not need access to explosives; you simply buy the materials and manufacture the explosives yourself. As an ex-police officer who served in N. Ireland during the troubles I can assure you that the vast majority of explosive devices were homemade from readily available materials. They had access to military type plastic explosive in smaller quantities but due to the difficulty in obtaining it they simply used small quantities of it to trigger the main charge.
I can guarantee you Jimmy that if I looked in your house right now I could find the necessary materials to make such a device without going anywhere near a shop.
Chris Attard
Dec 28th 2009, 15:48
@h galea
I'm sorry but what does MaltaPost have to do with what happened here? The parcel was left at the victim's whereabouts by the culprits and not delivered by post.
R Cutajar
Dec 28th 2009, 15:25
This is quiet unbeleivable. If the bomb had exploded when the receiver opened the book is one thing but to find that d book is hollowed and inside is a switch and wires and then start meddling with them shows lack of common sense.
h galea
Dec 28th 2009, 14:54
Why is every one blaming MR Cini,The Malta Post should Know as who sent the parcel.They should have checked the sender's ID before accepting the parcel.I have had problem with Malta Post.They leave a note''You have a parcel'' NO Name Of Sender.
So if this parcel contains one Kilo of Drugs,and i present to collect it? Who is to blame.I have sad enough.
F. Massa
Dec 28th 2009, 14:32
@Jimmy Magro
Maybe not the local supermarket, but the local chemist, garden store or handyman store.. what you need is a chemical reaction (which is after all the key element of an explosive.. an ultra-fast/high reaction).
Plus, whoever built the thing most probably has access to underground markets, so no surprises there.
Besides, saying 'access to explosives' is like saying the Nazis had access to guns.. pretty obvious ain't it? :-)
Erin Ciantar
Dec 28th 2009, 14:20
@Jimmy Magro
You need no access to explosives. They can be made by using household items and chemicals.
Jimmy Magro
Dec 28th 2009, 14:00
@James A. Tyrrell
Thks for the information - but still the bomb maker would require the explosives even if the chemicals can be bought from the supermarket. I still have my doubts that the source of the materials came from any local supermarket.
J Oatmon
Dec 28th 2009, 13:15
I have great sympathy for the victim, however what was he thinking with 'messing around' with a strange unexpected unknown package?
After all he had no idea who sent it, or left it, and it did not come through the mail (no stamps) or anything. It could be opened by a child of course, but I would never open any parcel I felt I could not explain.
James A. Tyrrell
Dec 28th 2009, 12:52
@J.Tonna. I agree with you totally although anyone silly enough to run searches on the internet for such information now would be setting off all sorts of alarms. Most search engines now are set up to react to certain 'trigger' words and you would probably find yourself being watched very quickly. Also ISP's now have to retain search information regarding their members for a period of one year in case the security services need to refer back to it.
J.Tonna
Dec 28th 2009, 11:54
In my opinion the more information you give, in such cases, the more you will be helping would be culprits, planning a similar attack.
James A. Tyrrell
Dec 28th 2009, 11:51
@Jimmy Magro. Jimmy with access to the Internet you can find all the information you need to manufacture your own explosives. I would say this book device probably used some form of plastic explosive and you can make that at home. As the experts say a lot of guts would be required, as they tend to be very unstable. It's a scary thought that everything you need to make such a device can be bought at your local supermarket!
Jimmy Magro
Dec 28th 2009, 11:26
"Explosives experts have said that anybody with a basic sense of electronics, access to the internet and a lot of guts would have been able to manufacture a parcel bomb similar to the one that maimed Mr Cini."
I think the experts have forgotten to mention - access to explosives !!
you can have basic sense of electronics and access to the internet but to make a parcel bomb you still need the explosives !!
I am stunned by the lack of information from the authorities. When people compare the interaction of the police and other authorities with the media to what happens outside Malta, one comes to the conclusion that in Malta the citizens are treated like dummies. Just watch the news on Flights 253 from Amsterdam to Chicago and one will know what I am saying.