The Maltese clock given as a gift to former Finance Minister Tonio Fenech was “examined” by the police, The Times has learnt.
Investigations were carried out into the clock issue and resulted in the negative
Mr Fenech last month turned down a request by The Times to have access to the Tal-Lira clock, given to Mr Fenech by businessman Raymond Farrugia as a gift from his wife, so that it could be valued by an independent expert.
“The Police Commissioner himself did not ask to see the clock, so one fails to understand the continued insistence by The Times on this subject,” a spokesman for the former minister had said.
However, the police said in recent days that the clock had actually been examined.
Asked whether attempts were made to verify its value, the police’s response was that investigations were carried out into “the clock issue” and that the “same resulted in negative”.
“In the course of these investigations, the clock in question was also examined and confirmed to be the same one donated to former Minister Tonio Fenech by Raymond Farrugia, brother of George Farrugia, which was said to have been handcrafted by Raymond Farrugia’s wife,” the police said.
The clock made headlines during the electoral campaign when it emerged that George Farrugia had mentioned it to police after he was granted a Presidential pardon to reveal what he knows about the Enemalta oil purchase scandal.
George Farrugia said he had accompanied his brother to Mr Fenech’s home to give him the gift, which the former minister insisted was given to him as a token of admiration.
Mr Fenech had rubbished a Labour Party claim that the clock cost more than €5,000, saying it was not worth more than the value of its components.
When asked about the fact that the police had examined the clock, Mr Fenech said officers had called on him after he remarked that the Police Commissioner had not asked to see it.
“The police came later because I asked the Commissioner to testify in my (libel) case against (ministers) Evarist Bartolo and Chris Cardona,” Mr Fenech said.