A traffic policeman who was almost killed in a hit-and-run incident near Luqa has been awarded the Midalja għall-Qadi tar-Repubblika.
PC Simon Schembri lost an arm but was able to recover from the horrific accident on May 16 which saw him being run over and then dragged under a car for a considerable distance. The teenage driver, who was unlicensed when the incident happened, is facing charges of attempted murder.
The award was handed to him by President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca during the Republic Day awards ceremony at the Palace in Valletta.
PC Schembri has since set up a foundation that aims to raise awareness on the perils these officers faced on a regular basis while on duty. The foundation also helps those in need.
Other people who were honoured during the ceremony included former European Commissioner and Nationalist Minister Tonio Borg, who was made a Companion of the National Order of Merit.
Former Labour MPs John Dalli and Adrian Vassallo were made Officers of the Order of Merit. In the official biography issued by the Department of Information, John Dalli is also described as "the first entrepreneur who introduced tower cranes and concrete pumps in Malta, and also one of the first who started using the Concrete Batching Plant."
Italian professor and banker Emmanuele Francesco Maria Emanuele di Villabianca, deputy chairman of the Emanuele Cancer Research Foundation Malta and cancer survivor Michio Endo Malta's tourism representative in Japan were made Honorary Officers.
The award of Members of the Order of Merit went to Joan Abela who has distinguished herself for her work in the rehabilitation of the Notarial Archives;businessman Michael J Bianchi, one of the founders of the President's Trust; businessman and government consultant Paul Falzon Sant Manduca; Gozitan priest and culture promoter Mgr Joseph Farrugia; broadcaster and dramatist Albert Marshall; former army officer Clayton Micallef who was injured and later served as an inspiration in the way he recovered and pursued his studies; Roderick Bovingdon, who promotes the Maltese language abroad; publisher Arthur Gruppetta; actress and broadcaster Josephine Mahoney; folklore artist Ġianni Pace; broadcaster and writer Ġorġ Peresso; diver David Michael Schembri, who has recovered many historic artefacts from the sea; Frank Lawrence Scicluna a promoter of the Maltese language in Australia; Louis John Vella a Maltese community leader in California, and the late 'champion of the poor' Charles Miceli.
Bernd Schiffarth, co-founder of the German Maltese Association was handed the award in an honorary capacity.