Prison inmate found explosives document on bed, court hears

An inmate at Corradino Correctional Facility found a hand-drawn explosives diagram on his bed and claimed it was drawn by David Brincat, who is accused of placing an explosive device outside Labour Party headquarters in May 2024.

Sergeant Wilfrid Brincat gave evidence in court on Tuesday about a diagram handed to him by inmate Mario Testa on 25 June 2024. The sergeant testified that Testa had found the document on his bed and immediately reported it to his superiors.

Defence counsel raised an objection to the sergeant’s testimony, challenging its relevance on grounds that the evidence related to events occurring well after the acts that led to the criminal proceedings.

The prosecution argued the proposed evidence was relevant both to the charges and to the jury. The court ruled that the evidence could prove relevant during the compilation stage and ordered the witness testimony to proceed.

Brincat continued his testimony, explaining that Testa shared a cell in Door 2, with up to 16 inmates housed in bunk beds. Under cross-examination, the defence established that it meant that approximately 16 people had access to Testa's bed.

Following the sergeant's evidence, the prosecution requested the appointment of a handwriting expert to conduct a comparative analysis between the accused's handwriting and the note found in the cell. The court authorised the appointment of expert Alberta Borg.

Testa told the court he discovered the document on his bed after returning from work. He testified that he knew nothing about it and immediately handed it to the sergeant. Testa confirmed he gave the document to the sergeant and spoke to no one else about it.

Testa said that from conversations between them, he knew Brincat enjoyed "studying chemistry and such things". He described how Brincat had been in the bunk above him, and that he had once discussed chemistry with Brincat after Testa brought a chemistry book from the prison library. Testa acknowledged the document "could be his, because I know he likes to study chemistry".

The witness added that he did not find Brincat in the cell at the time, as he had been transferred to Division 6. He confirmed the bed was covered by camera surveillance and that he had seen a diagram on the document.

The prosecution requested the appointment of an expert to examine whether the substance depicted in the diagram was explosive in nature. The court appointed expert Godwin Sammut to conduct the analysis.

David Brincat was charged in June 2024 with placing an explosive device outside the Labour Party headquarters in Ħamrun on 30 May. Police allegedly discovered further explosive materials on his person and in a garage in Santa Venera when he was arrested. Court-appointed psychiatrists later concluded that Brincat had been in a state of psychosis at the time of the alleged crime.

The case is being heard before Magistrate Kevan Azzopardi.