Anybody with a basic sense of electronics, access to the internet and a lot of guts would have been able to manufacture the parcel bomb that maimed Philip Cini, according to an explosives expert.
Maurice Calleja said it was "very easy" to manufacture such a bomb but "extremely dangerous" to do so.
"It has a very basic circuit similar to a torch but instead of the bulb the circuit would be connected to a detonator, which is then inserted into the explosive material," the former brigadier said yesterday.
Forensic experts still have to determine what type of explosive was used but police sources said it was probably not the type normally used in fireworks and quarries.
The Armed Forces of Malta's bomb disposal unit yesterday carried out precautionary checks on Mr Cini's apartment in Buġibba and a caravan he owns.
Mr Cini was in a serious but stable condition, hospital sources said. He lost his left hand and had to be operated upon because of serious injuries to the left side of his torso.
The police are still trying to establish the motive behind the attempted murder and one aspect being looked into are the words "To Philip from Doris" written on the parcel. Mr Cini's wife is called Doris.
The home-made bomb, placed in a hollowed out book, exploded when 60-year-old Mr Cini unwrapped the parcel while standing in his kitchen. His wife and eight-year-old grandson miraculously escaped uninjured despite being close to him.
"Mr Cini must have shielded the blast because both his wife and grandson were very close at the time of the explosion. They were very lucky to escape unharmed," police sources said, insisting the bomb was powerful enough to kill an individual.
The blast damaged the aluminium balcony door and shattered the glass panes of the windows in the kitchen.
Investigations so far have excluded the possibility that the parcel was delivered by postal services. It was left behind the door to Mr Cini's first-floor maisonette in St Edward Street, Qormi.
Relatives were interviewed at length on Tuesday. Mr Cini worked at his brother's food packaging company, C. Cini & Sons.
The bomb exploded at about 1.30 p.m. and shocked neighbours. They were left wondering who would have reason to hurt Mr Cini, described by many as a jovial character.
Two weeks ago, the police were called in to investigate a suspected parcel bomb in Qormi but it turned out to be a hoax.
A similar scare happened yesterday evening when an elderly woman raised the alarm about a suspicious packet lying in another street, which turned out to be a bundle of promotional material.