A 53-year-old man, Raymond Caruana, was shot dead as he got into his car in San Blas, limits of Siggiewi, at around 9.30pm.  

He was gunned down with a fully automatic rifle just a few moments after leaving a farmhouse he owned, but which was not his residence. His assailant appeared to have been lying in wait in tall grass opposite the house.

The victim managed to get out of the car and his body, which had multiple gunshot wounds, was found behind the car.

When the police arrived, the car was still switched on and the wipers operating.

Mr Caruana's girlfriend was inside the farmhouse and raised the alarm.

Mr Caruana was known to the police and had been one of two men accused of attempting to bribe the late judge Ray Pace.