Victim sheds no new light on parcel bomb case

The 60-year-old man who was maimed by a parcel bomb three days before Christmas did not shed any new light on the case, police sources said.

Philip Cini, who was for some time unable to speak to the police because he was under sedation, has been interviewed on a number of occasions but has told the police nothing they did not already know.

"He spoke to us but his version did not shed any new light on the case. He is still under shock," the sources said, adding that investigators were still counting on Mr Cini giving a more lucid input to the case that could help solving it.

Mr Cini remains in hospital recovering from the injuries he sustained when the parcel bomb exploded in his kitchen on December 22. He has been in intensive care since.

Until now, the investigations have hinged on forensic evidence but the police are hoping that Mr Cini's continued recovery will help shed light on the motive and, possibly, lead them to the perpetrator.

Mr Cini works at his brother's food packaging company, C. Cini & Sons.

The package was delivered to Mr Cini's home in Qormi on the morning of the incident. Mr Cini's wife, Doris, found it behind the door and took it upstairs to the kitchen. When Mr Cini arrived at about 1.30 p.m., he unwrapped the parcel - addressed "To Philip from Doris" - and saw that inside was a hollowed out book that acted as a casing for a contraption with a battery pack and switch. The victim was handling the package when it blew up.

Mr Cini lost his left hand and had to undergo an operation because of serious injuries to the left side of his torso.

His wife, who had warned him not to open the parcel, and their eight-year-old grandson escaped uninjured despite standing near him.

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.