The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses has expressed support with its top officials and with honorary president Paul Pace “in view of the continued and unwarranted attacks being made on them by the Times of Malta following the issuance of a garnishee order”.

The issue concerns a libel suit instituted by executive members of the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN), led by former president Paul Pace, against the newspaper. The case was over a front-page article which revealed that the nurses’ union group committee chairman at Mater Dei Hospital had swindled vulnerable patients out of hundreds of euros in collaboration with a salesman posing as a doctor.

The story was correct, however, the committee members claimed the story’s sub-heading which stated ‘Top MUMN official investigated’, referred to them.

A Magistrate’s court ruled against the newspaper and ordered editor Steve Mallia and head of News Ariadne Massa, author of the article, to pay €11,500 in damages.

An appeal court reduced the damages to €4,000 and the newspaper filed an application before the Constitutional Court. However, the MUMN officials demanded to be paid before the case was decided and last week a court issued a garnishee order against the journalists, freezing their personal accounts and their salaries.

The MUMN said that, apart from misinforming readers as to the actual facts of the case, the newspaper sought to vilify the four plaintiffs by portraying them as some money-hungry parasites who were unable to await the final outcome of the case prior to executing their request for payment.  

It said that in its efforts to try and vilify the MUMN officials, the newspaper only vilified itself with the public in view of the unprecedented arrogance manifested in its attacks on the MUMN officials and on the courts.