Lawyers for former GRTU council member Sandro Chetcuti today produced evidence in court to show that a consultant had had contacts with Vince Farrugia's children before he carried out a scan which showed that the GRTU director-general had suffered broken ribs.
The scan, which was later exhibited in court, is being disputed by other radiologists.
The evidence was produced during the continuation of the case where Mr Chetcuti is accused of the attempted murder of Mr Farrugia, whom he allegedly assaulted at the GRTU offices.
Consultant Anthony Samuel, who was summoned to court once more to be cross-examined by the defence, told the court today that he had never specified that the broken ribs he had detected when he examined GRTU director-general Vince Farrugia were caused by the assault made against him by Sandro Chetcuti.
Mr Samuel also admitted when questioned, that he had briefly dated Mr Farrugia's daughter.
He also admitted that he might have had phone and SMS contact with Mr Farrugia's children, after having in his first testimony said he did not now.
Replying to a series of questions by defence lawyer Emanuel Mallia, Dr Samuel said he was not a radiologist and his speciality was nuclear medicine.
He had carried out gama ray bone scans on Mr Farrugia and in his report to the court, he had said that he had found fractures which were not visible in the x-rays. The fractures happened four to six weeks before he did the scan. The injuries were caused by a blunt object. The ribs had fractured at their weakest point, but, Dr Samuel said, in his report he had not said specifically that this was caused by the assault.
During cross examination, defence counsel asked Dr Samuel how he knew Mr Farrugia.
He replied that he knew Mr Farrugia through his father, and he had briefly dated Mr Farrugia's daughter, Marie-Claire, who was a doctor at St Luke's.
Counsel pointed out that in his first testimony, Dr Samuel had said he had not had contact with Mr Farrugia's children prior to the scan on March 26.
Yet, between March 15 and 23 he had five mobile phone and SMS exchanges with both of Mr Farugia's children.
And Marie-Claire Farrugia in an SMS to her father had even said:" I have asked Anthony Samuel to do a scan on our ribs" adding that it would help his court case.
Pressed by defence counsel, Dr Samuel said he might had had contact with Mr Farrugia's children but he could not remember as time had elapsed.
Pressed further by Dr Mallia in view of his categorical exclusion, in his first testimony, of having had contact, Dr Samuel said he could not remember, and he might have been seeking an appointment for the scan.
Dr Mallia said he had been informed that this sort of scan only started being carried out for this sort of incident after Mr Farrugia's case.
Dr Samuel said a total of 150 such scans were carried out last year.