The editor of The Malta Independent on Sunday has been ordered to pay €3,000 in libel damages to three engineers after a court ruled the newspaper had been guilty of negligence in an article it published in May last year.

The libel suit was filed by engineers Frederick Azzopardi, Stefan Riolo and Robert Schembri, CEO and executive director of the Water Services Corporation and executive director of Enemalta, respectively, against David Lindsay.

The three engineers felt libelled by an article entitled "Government silent on WSC CEO's Singapore Grand Prix Visit" published on May 4, 2014.

Magistrate Francesco Depasquale noted that the article was subtitled with the words "Were tickets paid for with taxpayers' money?" and questioned whether the three men who were attending a conference in Singapore, had outstayed their official visit and attended a Formula One race at the expense of the government.

The court noted that it had been proven that the three engineers were invited to attend the Singapore International Water Week Seminar in Singapore between September 18 and 19, 2013.

All those at the seminar had been offered discounted prices for the Formula One race and Messrs Azzopardi, Riolo and Schembri had elected to extend their stay in Singapore to attend the race.

Engineers paid own way for extended stay and race tickets

They paid their own way for their extended stay and also personally paid for the race tickets.

Magistrate Depasquale added that both the Times of Malta and The Malta Independent on Sunday had sent a number of questions in writing about who had paid for the extended stay and tickets. The Times of Malta had addressed its questions to Mr Azzopardi who had replied in writing. As a result The Times of Malta had not published a story about the issue.

The Malta Independent on Sunday had addressed its questions to Lindsey Gambin, communications coordinator within the Energy Ministry. Ms Gambin replied to journalist Rachel Attard on the following day, giving her the information requested, namely that the engineers had paid for the tickets and the extended stay themselves

However, neither Ms Attard nor the journalist who was covering this story for the Malta Independent, Neil Camilleri, had gone to work when the reply was received, and the newspaper published the article even though it already had the requested answers in hand, as the editor was unaware that the answer had been received.

Although the newspaper had subsequently published another story admitting that it had received a reply, this article did not contain any apology nor did it specify that the replies had been received prior to the publication of the original article.

Magistrate Depasquale said that negligence on the part of the newspaper and its journalists had led to the publication of the article without facts being verified.

 

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