Any action against former acting police commissioner Ray Zammit and his son, Roderick, an inspector, will not be taken before an internal inquiry is concluded.

However, Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela indicated yesterday that Ray Zammit’s days as acting director of prisons were numbered and he would be replaced as soon as a successor was identified.

Retired judge Michael Mallia concluded in an inquiry ordered by the Prime Minister that Mr Zammit and his two sons, Roderick and Daniel, a former police inspector, behaved unethically and improperly when they participated in business ventures with the Gaffarena family. They were found to have breached police rules.

Roderick Zammit

The Opposition yesterday continued to press for action by the government following the inquiry findings. Nationalist Party deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami said that, faced by the irregularities exposed by the inquiry, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat could not continue to hide and be held hostage by corrupt cliques.

Asked yesterday why Roderick Zammit had not yet been suspended in the wake of the Mallia report, Mr Abela said he was awaiting the conclusions of an internal police inquiry to decide what to do. “I think it will be premature to take action before the second [internal] inquiry is completed,” he said.

Normally, officers are suspended immediately when accused of some form of crime. So far, Roderick Zammit has been transferred from the economic crimes unit to the Ħamrun police station. Saying the internal inquiry should be concluded in “a few weeks’ time”, Mr Abela said: “Rest assured we will take action if it results that such a route should be taken.”

On Mr Zammit’s role as acting prisons director, Mr Abela said this was “a stopgap” and he would be replaced as soon as a successor was found. “In the circumstances, I had to decide whether it is good to leave the prisons without a director or wait for a replacement. Due to the sensitivity of the prisons, I decided to retain Zammit for some more time until his successor is identified. This should be over by the end of the year,” the minister said.

Asked whether he still trusted Mr Zammit now that Judge Mallia’s conclusions were published, Mr Abela did not reply. He did say, however, that he had no reports that Mr Zammit was doing a bad job at the prisons.

The Opposition, however, is insisting on action. Addressing a press conference in front of the Justice Ministry, in Valletta, Dr Fenech Adami accused the Prime Minister of being “hostage to corrupt cliques”.

“Despite all the scandals surrounding his government, Dr Muscat is nowhere to be seen,” he said, insisting that, following the Mallia inquiry, the Prime Minister was in duty bound to act.

He said the PN was informed that Dr Muscat ordered Justice Minister Owen Bonnici to retain Mr Zammit as CEO of a government law enforcement agency despite defying police laws. “How can Owen Bonnici trust this person? What does Mr Zammit know about Dr Muscat to make him so untouchable?” Dr Fenech Adami asked.

Shadow Minister Jason Azzopardi said this was the second time [Ray] Zammit’s actions have been censured. He said following the case involving the driver of former home affairs minister Manuel Mallia, an inquiry had found that Mr Zammit had failed in his duties as acting police commissioner.

“Instead of getting rid of him, Dr Muscat gave him another job,” Dr Azzopardi said.