Son of boating hit-and-run victim slams Jason Azzopardi for ‘reopening old wounds’ on father’s death

The son of a man who died in a hit-and-run boating accident in 2012 has hit out at lawyer Jason Azzopardi for “reopening old wounds” in a Facebook post penned earlier this week.

In a cryptic Facebook post on Monday, Azzopardi made a reference to the 2012 incident linking it to the Prime Minister.

Romario Brignone’s father, Charles, was hit on the head with a boat propeller while snorkelling near Żonqor, Marsascala. The perpetrator behind the incident was never identified.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Romario Brignone said the lawyer’s post reopened old wounds, and raised questions he had accepted he would never get an answer for.

“Almost 12 years, that’s how long it took for this wound to re-open for me, my mother Josianne Brignone and other family members regarding my father’s case,” Brignone said. 

Speaking to MaltaToday, he said he reached out to Jason Azzopardi to get answers on his late father, but was only told by the lawyer that it was not the case he was referring to.

“You don’t need to be a genius to make the connection on what he was talking about. The only similar hit-and-run boating accident in 2012 was my father’s. Why raise doubts?” he said.

Brignone said that he would be willing to collaborate with the authorities if he had more information.

“I don’t hide my political loyalties, but I would be willing to help out with the investigation. When I reached out, he just told me he was not referring to my father’s case, and when I asked to what case he was referring to, he just left me on seen,” he said.

Brignone said the post has left him flabbergasted.

“It only serves to instil belief for nothing, because we know we won’t get any answers,” he said.

Asked if has reached out to the authorities, he said he had the option to open a criminal complaint, but was not considering anything for now, as it will only mean the family would end up in a bureaucratic legal maze for “nothing”.

MaltaToday reached out to Azzopardi for a comment, but said he had nothing to add to what is already in the public domain.

The lawyer told the Times of Malta that he was not referring to the case in his post, but would not elaborate further.