AG drops attempted murder charge

Convicted murderer Ċikku Fenech turned up in court yesterday to be tried for attempted murder seven years ago but the Attorney General opted to drop the charge.

Such a move is known to be very rare in the annals of criminal justice in Malta.

It was not explained in court why the charge had been dropped.

Mr Fenech's defence lawyer, Joe Mifsud, complained that his client, 71, had waited seven years for the trial to commence, had spent 10 days under preventative arrest and had paid a €4,000 bail bond only to have the charge withdrawn.

Mr Fenech is, however, still being charged with firing a gun in an inhabited area and illegally possessing a revolver on May 18, 2003, for which he could be jailed between three months and two years if found guilty. A verdict on these charges is expected today.

The Attorney General withdrew the attempted murder charge as allowed to do by law at his discretion.

The court heard how in 2003, Mr Fenech was attacked by John Pace, 45, who, armed with a double barrel shotgun, jumped over a rubble wall into a field adjoining a house belonging to Mr Fenech. He began shooting at Mr Fenech who took cover behind a metal barrel and fired back with a revolver, acting in self-defence.

Their argument was over a field in Attard belonging to Mr Fenech. The dispute was resolved through the courts in 2008 when Mr Pace was ordered to vacate the field.

Mr Fenech said in a statement that when Mr Pace began firing at him, he suddenly remembered he had a revolver hidden in a green plastic fruit crate. He used it but Mr Pace just kept on approaching, reloading and firing.

The accused said he fired the shots into the air to try and scare Mr Pace off. It worked and Mr Pace hid behind a tree, telling Mr Fenech that he would return later.

Mr Pace was subsequently tried for his part in the shooting. He was acquitted of attempted murder but jailed for 21 months for firing a gun in a public place and illegally carrying a firearm.

After lawyer Aaron Bugeja, from the Attorney General's Office, filed a note withdrawing the attempted murder charge, the defence and the prosecution moved into another room for plea bargaining. They failed to reach an agreement and Mr Fenech admitted to the two remaining charges, leaving punishment in the hands of Mr Justice Giannino Caruana Demajo.

In pleas on punishment, Dr Bugeja said that, according to article 3 (1) (a) of Chapter 66, which was still in force at the time of the crime, if someone fired a gun in a public place but acted in self-defence there should be an acquittal. However, the law specifically referred to a weapon or some other object that is found by the person being attacked at the very moment such person is defending himself. In Mr Fenech's, case the revolver was in his possession well before the incident and he should, therefore, not be acquitted, Dr Bugeja argued.

Dr Mifsud rebutted saying that all the evidence produced indicated it was crystal clear that his client acted in self-defence. Had his client not told the police he had fired a gun none of this legal saga would have ensued, he added, blaming shoddy police work on this point. No gunshot residue was found on his client and nor were any spent cartridges from the revolver found on the scene.

Dr Mifsud argued that Mr Pace had told the police at the time of his arrest that if he was released he would go back and shoot Mr Fenech but the jury had still acquitted him.

The lawyer read out a list of fights and similar incidents involving Mr Pace and told the judge he wanted to give him an idea of who Mr Pace really was.

Once the proceedings were over, Dr Mifsud requested that his client stay at home until sentencing this morning at 9.30 because of his deteriorating medical condition. He produced doctors' certificates highlighting ailments such as heart and lung problems.

Mr Fenech's last brush with the law was in 1977 and, before, he had served an eight-year term for murdering Ċikku Vella on June 13, 1963.

He had been subject to one of the largest man-hunts in Maltese criminal history after leaving the family home and spending three months on the run, living in caves in the Ġnejna area and roaming other parts of the island.