Update 2 | Man found dead in apartment identified as doctor facing theft charges

A doctor whose lifeless body was discovered in his Sliema flat yesterday evening had filed a pending court application for permission to visit family abroad less than 5 days before his death. The 45-year-old man was facing theft charges.

The court application, which has been seen by MaltaToday, was filed on the 28 April and asks the court of Magistrates in Gozo to allow him to “travel to Germany, Norway and Denmark to visit his daughter, amongst other commitments,” from Monday the 23 May to Sunday 12 June. From the court document, hotel and flight bookings appear to have already been made before that date. 

The application, which had been filed by lawyer Lucio Sciriha, was still being considered by the court at the time of the man's death.

The lifeless body of the 45-year-old Montenegrin doctor was discovered after police officers forced their way into his apartment yesterday afternoon, acting on reports that the man was missing. Sources are also reported to have said that the police had received reports of a foul smell emanating from the apartment, which would indicate that the Montenegrin had been dead for some time before he was found.

The man, who had practised medicine in Malta for over nine years, had been found in possession of several boxes of pethidine bearing a mark denoting that they were property of the Maltese government and had been facing charges of the simple theft of medicinal items, the purchase and possession of a scheduled drug without the necessary authorisation or permission and without evidence that it was for his personal use.

He had been released on bail two weeks ago.

A magisterial inquiry is underway to determine the cause of death.