Opposition leader mum on charges against Francis Zammit Dimech

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil has ignored questions sent to him over a report by MaltaToday that revealed that Nationalist MP Francis Zammit Dimech was among eight facing charges of involuntary homicide.

The questions were sent to the PN leader on Saturday morning and remained unanswered by the time this report went to print on Tuesday evening.

MaltaToday has sought to elicit comments from Busuttil on whether he had discussed the matter with Zammit Dimech and whether the MP would continue to fulfil his duties as MP and as the party’s spokesperson for migration.

MaltaToday also asked Busuttil whether it was a source of concern that a member of his parliamentary group was facing charges of involuntary homicide.

The questions however remained unanswered.

Zammit Dimech was non-executive director of Seabank Hotel and Catering Limited when 27-year-old Maksims Artamonovs died during the construction of the Seabank hotel in Mellieha.

In his limited public reaction to the case, Busuttil turned the tables onto the Labour government’s misdemeanours. 

Zammit Dimech has been charged alongside Seabank Hotel owner Silvio Debono, CEO Arthur Gauci, B&B Construction owner Angelo Bartolo, B&B Holdings and Investments general manager Etienne Bartolo, structural engineer Pierre Farrugia, architect Robert Sant and Rueben Gatt.

Curiously, in the police’s charge sheet, the opposition MP was listed as Francis Zammit. However, the Police’s media relations office confirmed that “the name in the charge sheet is correct”.

The MP is no longer a director and legal representative of Seabank Hotel and Catering Ltd after resigning his post upon being appointed foreign affairs minister in January 2013. 

Pointing out that he was not directly linked to the Latvian man’s death, Zammit Dimech had told MaltaToday that “nobody on the board of directors was directly responsible for what was happening on the construction site.”

He had added that it was now up to the courts to “objectively” decide on the “nexus,” or link, and the level of responsibility between those charged and the tragic events which caused the man’s death.