Opposition leader Joseph Muscat yesterday called on Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici to inform the House of the outcome of a magisterial inquiry into the death of a police informant in prison in January last year.

The corps does not have adequate resources to fight crime

The prisoner had collaborated with the police on a number of crimes including a macabre murder case.

Speaking in Parliament on the opposition’s censure motion against the minister, Dr Muscat said that the prisoner, Steve Borg, might have been planning to give evidence on two other macabre cases. He had been found dead in his cell a few hours after a medical doctor had visited him because of a minor ailment. The autopsy revealed that Mr Borg died of a “lethal cocktail”.

Dr Muscat said Mr Borg’s family had not been informed of his death. They came to know through a telephone call from another inmate. They went to prison and the authorities at first told them that everything was well but later they admitted that he was dead.

The PL leader was also informed that a prisoner went to the police to give a statement but was told that the case had been closed. The family still faced a wall of silence.

Dr Muscat emphasised that never were the police so demoralised and demotivated as at present. The corps was in a stagnant state and a number of officials had left. There was a lack of strategic planning, the police were fighting crime with yesteryear’s tools while criminals were more prepared than ever before to make use of modern technology.

He expected the police to be able to work within a good legal framework. They needed human and financial resources and appropriate tools.

Dr Muscat said it was of concern that Malta was put on a watch list about human trafficking and fell under the scrutiny of the US government. How could Malta be ranked with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in this list when local standards were much higher? If the US Congress and Senate downgrade Malta a notch, the island could risk losing certain assistance from the US government.

He referred to a recent court case where a former police officer had been cleared by the court of substantial charges because he was not legally assisted during police interrogation. Dr Muscat said that the number of such cases had increased over the years because the government had failed to implement the relevant legislation after Parliament’s approval.

He added that there were two problems – one being that individuals were denied this right and also that criminals might go free because they were not legally assisted.

Contrary to promises made by the government, police officers had not been given any preparation on this development up to now. The police did not have adequate resources to fight crime. They felt that criminals were better armed with technological means. Promises made to the police were not kept. They were still being denied the right to union membership, as were other members of disciplinary corps.

No one had accepted responsibility when a court building had to be pulled down because it was against planning regulations.

The latest development had been that of the court registrar declaring that the whole judicial system was going downhill. Dr Muscat said he expected Minister Mifsud Bonnici to react to this statement. The Freedom of Information Act had not been implemented and for months administrative staff at the home affairs ministry had been told not to take any action even though the Bill had Parliamentary approval. Pressure had been exerted from higher authorities not to implement this Act.

Dr Muscat referred also to the Whistleblower Bill, which he called “shameful” because it did not give protection to persons revealing cases of corruption. He said the Bill, as drafted, would institutionalise “omerta”.

The Bill also proposed that it would be effective only for cases of corruption after the Act came into force. This was a travesty of democracy, reducing it to a pantomime. The Bill providing for financing of political parties also remained as a draft.

At the beginning of his speech, Dr Muscat said the motion was a political judgement on the minister’s work. Every politician had to be held accountable. Beware the moment that Parliament would not pronounce itself on any member because of personal sympathies.

In opposition, Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg had asked parliamentary questions in 1997 where he had revealed a case of a civil servant who had misguided then Minister of Justice Charles Mangion on rules on presidential pardons for early release from prison. Dr Mangion had assumed political responsibility and resigned.

Dr Muscat said no one believed Dr Borg was then personally vindictive towards Dr Mangion or that he wanted to destroy the Mangion family. The same argument applied today.

Interjecting, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said: “Dr Borg had not called for Dr Mangion’s resignation.”

Dr Muscat replied that Dr Mangion had assumed his responsibility and resigned even though the matter was minor when compared to the issues under discussion today.

European democracy demanded a clear definition and distinction of roles. In its reference to Malta’s judicial system, the Council of Europe had said that it was an “all in the family jamboree”. The Council of Europe surely did not have anything personal against the Mifsud Bonnici family.

Politicians in Parliament had to work and be responsible towards the common good, concluded Dr Muscat.