Star witness declared a fake
Neighbours had long-standing arguments
A farmer admitted in court yesterday to filing a false police report accusing his neighbour of being the one to torture and bury alive Star, the dog.
Police Inspector Ramon Mercieca told the court the police had received a phone call from Carmel Sacco, 45, from Kirkop who, insisting on anonymity, accused a certain Alfred Vella of the heinous attack on Star.
The call was followed up by a letter to the Animal Welfare Department in which the same accusations were made, the officer said.
It later turned out that the two men have fields adjacent to each other in the vicinity of where the dog was found shot in the head, with front and hind paws tied and buried in a shallow grave.
The men had a longstanding argument over planning permits, sources said.
The story of Star hit the headlines last week after the dog was found buried alive with 40 gunshot pellets lodged in its head and neck. The story even hit the international headlines with thousands condemning the barbaric treatment of the dog.
Star, as it was named after the rescue, was discovered when animal welfare officers were investigating another incident and heard it whimpering, They then noticed its nose and part of its mouth poking through the soil.
A photograph the animal rescuers took as they pulled the dog out of the soil appeared in the media both in Malta and abroad. Star is recovering well.
Mr Sacco admitted to filing a false police report, disrupting police investigations and relapsing.
Lawyers Charmaine Cherrett and Gianluca Caruana Curran asked the court for a pre-sentencing report to be drawn up. They also asked for bail on the premise that the accused had cooperated with the police and, having pleaded guilty, there would be no tampering of evidence.
The prosecuting officer said that, although what the defence team said was correct, the accused showed a lot of hostility towards the victim and it that was precisely reason why he should be remanded in custody.
Magistrate Doreen Clarke decided to grant bail on condition Mr Sacco did not go to the farm until the pre-sentencing report was drawn up and against a deposit of €1,000 and a personal guarantee of €3,000.
The case was put off to the end of the month.