Minister absent as MPs raise assault case in parliament
A rowdy parliamentary sitting was briefly suspended on Tuesday as Opposition MPs protested that Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia was in the building but had not entered the chamber to answer their questions about a shocking assault by Transport Malta officials on a man in Marsa. The minister had been due in the House to answer a question - about a zebra crossing in Attard - and the Opposition used that to ask a number of supplementary questions about the video of the attack. The House was told by the Labour whip Andy Ellul and by Culture Minister Owen Bonnici that Farrugia was absent from the House on official business. A Times of Malta reporter was able to ask Farrugia questions outside the parliament building at 4pm. Several PN MPs asked a series of questions about a video which showed two Transport Malta officials beating up a man as he lay on the ground in Marsa. Bonnici rose to reply to the questions on behalf of the transport minister. He said that the two Transport Malta officials allegedly involved in the incident had been suspended and the case was being investigated. The incident, he said, was being condemned without any reservations. The shadow minister for...