An internal inquiry into the death of a person under arrest at Mount Carmel Hospital has been concluded, Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela said, making no commitment on its publication.
“I will be willing to give information resulting from the internal inquiry, though not release the whole report, after seeking advice,” he said. Mr Abela added that publication would happen only after the magisterial inquiry into the suicide was concluded.
Richard Paxton, a 45-year-old Briton, died on January 9 at the forensic unit, where he was being detained on drug-related offences. This followed two similar deaths at the police lock-up in Floriana in the previous weeks.
Mr Abela told Parliament the following day that he had ordered an internal inquiry into the death, adding it would be completed within 10 days. This newspaper sent a series of questions to the ministry last week, but no information was forthcoming.
Confronted with the same questions at the end of a news conference at the new Probation and Parole Department offices in Marsa on Friday, Mr Abela said the inquiry report had, in fact, been handed in on January 21, in line with the set time frame.
In order not to prejudice the pending magisterial inquiry, I have been advised by the Attorney General to wait for its conclusion
“In order not to prejudice the pending magisterial inquiry, I have been advised by the Attorney General to wait for its conclusion,” he said.
Mr Abela said he would be willing to “give information at the opportune moment”, adding that a report, which would include a set of recommendations, was being drafted.
The terms of the inquiry were to review procedures and regulations and establish whether there had been any negligence, in which case disciplinary action would be recommended.
Headed by Josephine Abdilla, the human resources director at the Malta College of Arts Science and Technology, the board included the directors of detention services and the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers.
The Probation and Parole Department, opened yesterday, monitors more than 1,000 individuals granted parole or who have been placed under a probation order by a court.
A total of 24 probation officers work there, and recently, the department engaged two forensic psychologists, who are attending to 108 cases.
Mr Abela said the old Valletta premises were rather limited, to the point that some cases used to be referred to other government entities. He said that treatment in anger management, which was only introduced last year, had been a great success and the number of participants had doubled from 24 to 50.