Police union invites Attorney General to ‘next gun fight’ after ‘disappointing’ HSBC heist plea bargain

The Malta Police Union has lashed out at the Attorney General for dropping attempted homicide charges against bank robber Daren Debono it-Topo in a plea bargain deal.

The agreement saw Debono being jailed for 10 and a half years after admitting to his involvement in the HSBC heist from 2010. He is now expected to testify in the case against co-accused Vince Muscat il-Koħħu.

In a strongly-worded statement on Friday, the MPU invited Attorney General Victoria Buttigieg  and her staff to “the next gun fight to feel how death looks like when it is so near”.

Some 65 shots were fired at police officers who responded to a distress signal and foiled the robbery.

“The Malta Police Union is dismayed and disappointed by the fact that the Attorney General agreed to a plea deal with a suspect of attempted murder of a number of police officers,” the MPU said.

The plea deal meant that the attempted homicide charges, which could have led to a far heavier sentence, were dropped by the Attorney General. It has attracted criticism from some quarters, who felt that there was already enough evidence and that Debono’s testimony was not needed to secure the conviction of Vincent Muscat.

“This is another step which is causing huge demotivation amongst our officers. There is no respect for the important and dangerous work our officers do on a daily basis,” the union said.

It added that justice must not only be done, but be seen to be done and that in this case the justice system, as steered by the Attorney General, had “failed big time.”

On Thursday, the Nationalist Party and rule of law NGO Repubblika called on the AG to explain the motivations behind the plea bargain given that a very serious charge was dropped.

READ ALSO: Vincent Muscat HSBC heist trial postponed after prosecution asks for key witness to testify