Joseph Muscat says police preferred not to arrest Yorgen Fenech just yet

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that it wasn't the police's preferred course of action to arrest businessman Yorgen Fenech at this stage of investigations but were forced to do so when Fenech attempted to leave Malta on his yacht. 

"I am informed that this was not their preferred course of action. The police would have preferred to conclude their analysis on the middleman before any further arrests were made," Muscat told the press outside Castille on Friday.

Muscat was giving the latest updates on the police investigation of the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder. He said that Fenech was released from custody on police bail due to the law allowing the police to keep suspects in custody for a maximum of 48 hours.

"After that period, the police must either charge the suspect, free him, or grant him police bail according to law. When a person is arraigned, the police will not have the right to continue any further questioning. 

"This is a major case and I have full faith in investigators. I understand that they need more time. The analysis of the testimony and data provided by the suspected middleman is still being carried out," Muscat said.

He confirmed that the suspected middleman, Birkirkara taxi driver and loan shark Melvin Theuma, admitted himself to Mater Dei hospital on Friday morning. He said that he was informed that his condition was "nothing major."