Magistrate lambastes prison officials for inmate's no-show

Magistrate Consuelo Herrera hit out at the "confusing" system by which prison inmates are not being brought to court to face criminal proceedings, despite an official police notification.

Herrera lambasted the prison authorities after learning that inmate Joseph Cini - known as Pele - was not brought to court for his sitting.

"This is happening all the time. It is wasting the Court's time and not allowing it to do its work properly," Herrera said, adding that another inmate was brought to her courtroom an hour late after the sitting was due.

The Magistrate warned that she will not let any other delay take place.

Cini is charged with having escaped from imprisonment, after escaping from Mater Dei Hospital.

Cini had been in prison for only 10 days over breach of bail conditions. Prior to that, MaltaToday is informed that police had spent some 30 days look for him and had employed four mobile squads in an attempt to recapture him. He was reportedly found in the vicinity of Rabat.