Chetcuti acquittal | Court orders investigation of Vince Farrugia over alleged perjury

Charges | Manipulated doctors' diagnoses | GRTU witnesses

GRTU director-general Vince Farrugia used his "influential position" to damage the reputation of his aggressor in public, a magistrate said yesterday in her decision on charges against Sandro Chetcuti of having caused grievous bodily harm on Farrugia, 69.

Chetcuti, formerly a vice-president of the GRTU, was yesterday acquitted of the more serious charges, but sentenced to one month's imprisonment suspended for one year, for having caused slight injuries to Farrugia.

Magistrate Edwina Grima yesterday called on the Commissioner of Police to investigate the alleged perjury of Vince Farrugia and other witnesses, over their evidence to the court.

LISTEN Sandro Chetcuti's comments after magistrate's decision

In a comment before her decision, Grima said that court expert Martin Bajada had shown that SMSes between Farrugia and other associates of his, shows that Farrugia was carrying out "a trial by media" by contacting other journalists and even vetting reports on his case.

"He tried punishing the accused by using his influence on people of authority, even the Commissioner of Police and the director of prisons, during the time that the accused was under preventive arrest. He tried manipulating witnesses so that they give evidence as he sees fit, to ensure the accused is suitably condemned by this court... he had no right to carry out such manoeuvres to twits the law, and this court cannot come to judgement in a serene manner, as the doubt being created here now favour the accused," Grima said in her decision.

Grima also called the Attorney General to attention for wasting the court's time after it resulted that not enough evidence for an attempted murder charge existed.

MORE | Media manipulation: Farrugia wanted Daphne Caruana Galizia to attack Chetcuti

A photo of the injuries suffered by Vince Farrugia as he was taken to hospital.

Charges

Chetcuti, 40, was acquitted of the charge of the attempted murder and harming of Farrugia, then 65, and of breaching the public peace. The charge was later downgraded by the Attorney General, in the middle of proceedings, to causing grievous bodily harm.

He was found guilty of causing him slight injuries and of the charges of harassing and threatening Farrugia, and sentenced him to one month's imprisonment, suspended for one year. He was also placed on a €1,000 protection order not to talk or approach Farrugia.

The assault happened on 11 March, 2010, when the two men met at Farrugia's office to discuss an SMS that Chetcuti had mistakenly sent him, but which was addressed to then Opposition leader Joseph Muscat. Farrugia had been suspecting Chetcuti of leaking information to Muscat.

A confrontation soon ensued, with Farrugia claiming he was beaten to the ground by Chetcuti, which the accused denied. Chetcuti claimed he hit Farrugia in the face once, knocking of his spectacles in the process. But Farrugia says he was kicked while on the floor, with Chetcuti threatening he would kill him.

At that point, witnesses Paul Abela, Joe Attard and Sylvia Gauci and three other employees entered the office. Farrugia was taken to hospital, while Chetcuti turned himself in at the Valletta police station, where he was arrested, and later charged with the attempted murder of Farrugia.

Manipulated doctors' diagnoses

She said the court had "moral conviction" that it was only blow that Chetcuti had rained on Farrugia, bolstered by a medical expert's report that Farrugia's "slight" injuries were the result of blunt trauma, and had healed without any problems.

She said the expert's opinion contradicted the more serious diagnosis by Konrad Borg, the first doctor who saw Farrugia an hour after the incident.

Farrugia was additionally examined by consultant surgeon Joseph Debono, who claimed the victim had suffered bruises on his chest which however could not be proven by the photos showing Farrugia's facial injuries; and also by consultant Anthony Samuel, who carried out a three-phase isotope bone scan, a specialised nuclear radiology procedure used to indicate conditions not seen on ordinary X-rays.

But Samuel's diagnosis, which claimed Farrugia had suffered chest fractures, was also contradicted by court expert Dr Mario Scerri, who said there had never been any evidence of any such fractures. Scerri's views were reconfirmed by another court-appointed expert, consultant radiologist Malcolm Crockford, who said there was no evidence of any fracture.

In court, Samuel later said: "I never associated the results with any incident. My report stated that the trauma was recent, that is all that can be said, you cannot say anything else," in an apparent downplaying of the more serious diagnosis he had carried out.

In fact the court noted that while Samuel claimed that he had carried out the three-phase bone scan on a referral note from Dr Konrad Borg, the case summar report on Farrugia's discharged from hospital the same of the incident stated that 'no results are awaited'.

It turned out that it was Farrugia's own daughter, medical doctor Marie-Klaire Farrugia, who asked Samuel to carry out the bone scan, as an SMS she sent to her father proved:

"Hi pa, I just asked Anthony Samuel (consultant radiologist) to do a special scan on your ribs to check if there's a fracture (no difference in terms of treatment, but helps court case). He will contact you..."

After the bone scan, Farrugia messaged his own son, lawyer Jan Karl Farrguia, apparently unhappy with the results, asking him to tell doctors Borg and Samuel not to issue a "soft" diagnosis.

"Someone must say that any blow could have killed me."

But neither Borg nor Samuel complied with this request during their testimonies.

GRTU witnesses

The eyewitness accounts also contradicted claims by Farrugia that Chetcuti had rained blows upon him and kicked him as he fell to the floor.

GRTU employee Carmen Borg said she could only remember Chetcuti raising his hand, but not kicking him; Sylvia Gauci actually recanted on her initial claims that she had seen Chetcuti kick Farrugia, saying she did not see the incident and that she was "coached" by GRTU vice president Philip Fenech (pictured) on their version of events to give to the police; Fenech himself did not witness the assault but reported the matter to the police; Paul Abela and Joe Attard pulled Chetcuti away from Farrugia.

The court also said it doubted Joe Attard's testimony, who claimed that he met Chetcuti at a café before the incident, and was told by the accused that "if [Farrugia] makes me lose it, I will beat him up" - but Magistrate Edwina Grima noted that Attard did not report this allegation to the police when questioned on the incident that same day.