Prime Minister stands by amnesty for bribers
Joseph Muscat says customers who bribed Enemalta employees must offer information
21 February 2014, 12:00am
Tim Attard Montalto
Tim Attard Montalto
1 min read
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has stood by his government's position not to launch criminal procedures against Enemalta customers who bribed employees to have their smart meters tampered with.
In a visit at the Farsons bottling plant, where the company announced a €27 million beer packaging plant for 2016, Muscat faced questions from the press as to whether law-abiding citizens were justified in their umbrage at the leniency with Enemalta customers implicated in the smart meter bribery.
The government claims it has identified over 1,000 smart meters that have been tampered.
"We are using a system that the former Nationalist government employed in 2006 when it gave people a few weeks' chance to regularise their own position and pay a Lm100 penalty," Muscat said, referring to a legal notice that gives the Enemalta chairman the power to waive criminal liability on energy theft.
"We're not just a different government, we are a better government," Muscat said when pressed on the expectations of justice and transparency he had built up during the last elections. "We are saying that these customers must pay the energy they stole, with interest and penalties, and also come forward with information. This was not done before.
"Enemalta employees have already been suspended, and the case has not been closed, so more revelations have yet to be made."
Muscat refuted suggestions that an 'amnesty' would be unjust to law-abiding citizens.
"The only injustice would be leaving thing as they are in Enemalta. We are getting information from people and this is the only way to stop this racket, of which nothing was done about in the past. People can be comforted by the fact that we are getting this information, which is mandatory for defaulting customers to give.
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The title of this article is an unjust misnomer. The government is not standing by the amnesty to "bribers".
1. The bribers are the ones who approach someone offering a service or a product on advantageous/unregulated terms. In the smart readers scenario, it was enemalta's official providing this illicit service and or product.
2. The consumers where on the receiving end in this scenario. They were not bribing anyone but merely and knowingly paying for a service and or product which they had been offered by the bribers.
At least I hope it was this way. I hope that this organised crime was not so widespread that the crooked officials had a structured plan whereby they could be approached at liberty by the retailers for the corrupt services they were rendering.
Therefore, my conclusion, it is the officials who approached the consumers who are bribing and they are the ones who should face, as in fact they are doing, the criminal proceedings.
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While the honest tax-payer may feel that these 'energy thieves' are getting off easy,one has to bear in mind the logistical nightmare that this may involve.In the situation that has evolved,one has to keep in mind the hundreds of people that are involved in this widespread electricity theft.Imagine the case load on our already over-flowing courts and the money spent in prosecuting all these people.And with all due respect....who in his right mind will come forward and incriminate himself ?
I think this way will make people come forward and right their wrongdoing.Common sense really.
And in the end the most important thing is for Enemalta to recover as much money as possible.
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Let's compare the amnesties of 2006 and of 2014
Neither included court proceedings. 2016 no questions were asked while 2014 consumers have to give details of who tampered with the meter. 2016 consumers just paid LM100 irrespective of the amount of electricity stolen. 2014 consumers have to pay 10% fine on the stolen electricity plus interest. 2016 consumers were given 8% discount on due bills. 2014 consumers have to have to pay full bill. Yet in 2006 although there were no smart meters Enemalta still caught those stealing electricity.
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@ hormonyplus... yes it is a different government because the pn knew about corruption and they closed eyes and mouth on the issue! corruption was done with the pn's approval! have you ever asked to yourself before writing if we would have ever knewed about this issue of the pn remained in power? it is ridiculous to put all the 1000 consumers in jail becasue then socially and economically what will happen especially if they have families they support? however the reporter also failed to write that those who will not go to enemalta out of their freewill will be legally approached! also the reporter just came to absurd conclusion that all the 1000 customers went themselves to ask for the tampering of the smart readers!
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I am not a lawyer but one can look at the situation like this. If I am a customer of Enemalta and go to an employee of Enemalta and give him a sum of money whatever its value and tell him specifically to help me to reduce my electricity bill by tempering with my meter then I will be guilty of bribery. But if the Enemalta employ approaches me and tells me that if I give him a certain some of money he will be able to reduce my bill but does not give me details how he is going to do it then I think I am not bribing him (because he approached me) but I am an accomplice of theft.
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@ harmonyplus: I think both governments treat us, the general public as a bunch of imbeciles. They forget that in order to gain respect they have to learn how to respect us, the general public first. Respect is something you earn. Some think that because they have a title in front or behind their names, that respect is owed them. R.E.S.P.E.C.T. is a huge word which in this day and age unfortunately, for many this word does not exist.
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As any lawyer and that includes Politician Lawyers can tell you that offering a bribe makes you an accomplice and you are as guilty as the one taking the bribe. You cannot punish the one and not the other. Of course terminate the employment of the Enemalta employees but the courts and only the courts should decide what the punishment will be on both sides. Enemalta can bring the charges but the court should be the one to decide what the punishment should be. There seems to be a huge political interference looming this case and that is not right. No PN or PL Government should dictate to the police and the courts on what to do and on how to proceed in criminal cases and by the way these are criminal cases. If the government forgives one they must forgive all others or better yet the government, namely the PM should stick to running the country and not telling the police and the courts on how they should proceed. How can the PM forgive and forget a Mep if he is under investigation? Something is not right here. These are moves that are taken by Third World Countries and not by a Democratic Country like Malta. The PM should let justice take it's course and stop interfering when it comes to police and court investigations. What you are doing is not right Mr Joe unless you have your own agenda? This is becoming like the PUSH BACK threat you made to the EU. You are doing Malta no good by putting your foot in your mouth in every move you make. Think before you speak Mr Joe. For those of you writing in Maltese please remember that this is not strictly a Maltese Language paper and others would like to read these comments as much as we do. "Iktbu bl-Ingliz halli jifhem u jaqra kulhadd"
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I agree fully with edyjoyce, and it us exactly hiw it works. The tempering with the meter was not done by consumers but by enemalta employees. These have mist probable corrupted the consumers and not vice versa. What if a tempered meter was installed in a home without the consumer asking for it? Who can proove otherwise? How can the police proove without reasonable doubt as who corrupted who? So sye the offucials who invented thus and make the consumer pay hus dues.
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How come the writer of this report came to the conclusion that the "consumers " who had approached Enemalta empoloyees and asked them to have their meters "tampered with " ? Couldn't it have been vice-versa, the consumers were asked if they wished to have a tampered smart meter if they paid them a sum of money, say, €1,000 ? In such cases, how can consumers be accused of "bribing" the employee, and not that the employee had corrupted them by asking for money ?
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It does seem that they are getting off too easy with a 10% slap on the wrist. I think the fine should have been much higher. But talk of dragging a 1,000 people to jail for this is over-the-top.
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No, prime minister you're not a different government, you're too soft on corruption just like the previous government. That's not what you promised us before the election. Shame.
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Imsieken ta SimonPN u Simon 'id-delegat specjali' ma kienux jafu x'qed jigri fl-EneMlata peress li kollox kien miexi fuq -rubini! Anqas kellhom biex ihallsu l-pagi u kienu 'imexxu' 'mangement by crises' b'EneMalta falluta bid-dejn ta 800 million -imsieken -ma kienux jafu li hemm xi hage hazina! Kelna smart 'meters' u mediocre 'ministers': inkompatibli!
Ara b'min iridu jitnejku!
U dawn iridu ibellghawlna li huma 'l-creme de la creme'.
Inkompetenza, medjokrita, self praise u korruzzjoni u konsultazzjonijiet kienu 'the order of the day' Naghtuh 'ugieh ir-republica lil Gonzi talli gabna f'xifer l-irdum; u Simon irid ikomplu jippuxjana l-isfel!
