‘No reason to resign’ says GRTU president

GRTU president and businessman Paul Abela has told MaltaToday that he sees no reason to resign from his position in the small enterprise chamber, despite revelations that he could face perjury charges.

Last Sunday, MaltaToday reported that Abela could be charged with perjury under a new police investigation into whether he lied under oath when he said he witnessed former GRTU director-general Vince Farrugia being assaulted by Sandro Chetcuti.

The GRTU’s statute bars council members from retaining their posts when they face criminal charges.

When asked by MaltaToday whether he would resign if he is charged in court, Abela said that he would be seeking legal advice and make a decision at a later date.

He also said that he plans to sue MaltaToday for libel.

Chetcuti has successfully challenged the police force’s reticence to investigate Farrugia and his GRTU colleagues for perjury, after a judge said the police should investigate GRTU officials over their false evidence. 

Vince Farrugia currently occupies a government role as the representative of Maltese employers on the European Economic and Social Committee that falls under Helena Dalli’s Civil Liberties ministry. His appointment in 2010 under the previous administration was widely considered to be a political move, and had come under fire from the Malta Employers’ Association. 

When contacted by MaltaToday about Farrugia’s future in the forum, Dalli said that the government is considering the situation and will make a decision “in due course”. 

Sandro Chetcuti, today the president of the Malta Developers’ Association, was charged with the attempted murder of Vince Farrugia following a brawl with him at the GRTU offices in 2010. The altercation was the result of an SMS that Chetcuti texted erroneously to Farrugia, when the message was intended to be sent to then Opposition leader Joseph Muscat.

The charges were later downgraded to grievous bodily harm, and a court found Chetcuti guilty of slightly injuring Farrugia.

But Attorney General Peter Grech’s change of heart about the gravity of the original charge of attempted murder came about soon after a number of SMSs were downloaded from Farrugia’s mobile phone, which were presented in court in the compilation of evidence on the insistence of both the prosecution and the defence.

The SMSs confirmed that Farrugia was suborning witnesses into giving a misleading version of events of the incident.

In one SMS, Farrugia reminded Abela to repeat that Sandro Chetcuti used the word: “Noqtlok” (I will kill you). Farrugia also asked Abela to say that Chetcuti made his “kill you” threat as Chetcuti was hitting Farrugia. Paul Abela, who did as he was asked, was not even in the room, it transpired later.