PM dismisses as ‘hypothetical’ questions on Simed charges

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi dismissed as “hypothetical” a question put to him by MaltaToday on whether Dutch firm Simed could face any charges for having commissioned and presented to him a fabricated report that led to the resignation of John Dalli as a Cabinet minister in 2004.

Speaking during a press conference during which he launched the draft Whistleblowers Act, Lawrence Gonzi indirectly referred to John Dalli’s case when explaining that the new Whistleblowers Act would not give immunity to people who made false claims, which he pointed out, could be very damaging.

"There were some in the past who even drew up false reports which caused a lot of suffering for some people," the Prime Minister  said.

Private investigator Joe Zahra was last week sent to jail after an Appeals Court found him guilty of fabricating the report that alleged corruption in the adjudication of the Mater Dei hospital equipment tender.

The report, commissioned by competing firm Simed was passed on to the Prime Minister who in  turn passed it on to the police for investigation.

It falsely implied that bribes were paid for competing company Inso to win the contract.

The Prime Minister also defended Nationalist MP Robert Arrigo over allegations that he put pressure on Sliema local councillors to re-employ former contracts manager Stephen Buhagiar. "Robert Arrigo has categorically denied this and it is not fair to turn allegations into facts," the Prime Minister said.