Malta Enterprise finally broke its silence over the helipad obstruction incident yesterday, admitting that the driver of the leased car had been suspended for a week.
The State-owned corporation said the car in question was a grey Ford Focus, which neither belonged to any of its employees nor was leased by Malta Enterprise. It was, however, leased by Malta Industrial Parks, which used to form part of Malta Enterprise before it became a distinct organisation.
The information was contained in a statement issued by Malta Enterprise to announce it had filed a libel suit against The Malta Independent on Sunday over a report that records of the car had disappeared.
The libel suit was filed by Malta Enterprise executive chairman Mario Vella, chief operating officer Maria Carmela Tonna and principal chief officer Mario Galea against editor David Lindsay and journalist John Cordina, who penned two articles that appeared on November 9 and 30.
The corporation said that, on August 9, the security officer at St Luke’s Hospital complex, where both Malta Enterprise and Malta Industrial Parks had their offices, informed the precincts manager that a military helicopter was approaching and, since the car was in the way and its keys were unavailable, it was towed away.
It said Malta Industrial Parks “was quick” to take disciplinary action against its employee who was responsible for parking the car there on August 8. The employee was not at management level. A charge was issued against him and he was suspended from work for a week.
Since the car concerned was not owned, leased or used by Malta Enterprise, and given that the said car had not been parked on the helipad zone by any of its employees, Malta Enterprise said it did not issue any statement relating to the incident. Malta Industrial Parks decided not to publish any details before the conclusion of the magisterial inquiry.
Malta Enterprise denied any attempt to “cover up” any fact or responsibility, as the weekly newspaper claimed, but said it was awaiting the conclusion of the inquiry before making any statements.
“Malta Enterprise and Malta Industrial Parks employees were asked to testify in the magisterial inquiry and they did so under oath. Any statement or suggestion to the contrary is plainly a lie. Vehicle LCF 606 continues to be used by Malta Industrial Parks,” it said, expressing regret that the issue had become a political football.