Malta Independent

Confiscate­d hammerless/ harmless auto-pistol

- John Louis Curmi Swieqi

Despite a torrent of useless wrangling between the Weapons Office at General Police H.Q., and the same office at St Julian’s Police Station over the unwarrante­d confiscati­on of my fully licensed ‘’hammerless/harmless’’ auto-pistol on 7th January of this year, I am still suffering from the false report a social worker representi­ng The Ministry For Family and Social Security, had made at St Julian’s Police Station, which has noticeably distressed my family including my wife who has been suffering from a degree of certified mental disorder.

The social worker, Maria Camilleri had officially called at our residence, primarily to assess my physical disabiliti­es sustained from two serious accidents in 2009 and 2012 which have since necessitat­ed the constant use, even at home, of special walking-aids, but also with the help, outside my home, of an able-bodied individual, since I just cannot walk without pushing a specially-designed heavy steel walking-aid liable to cause me to collapse when tired.

However, Mrs Camilleri, while chatting with me in my study for a few minutes, must have also noticed a small calibre auto-pistol next to my writing desk which, evidently, she must have suspected it might constitute a possible threat to my wife in her moments of mental lapses – sometimes she forgets my name!

It appeared later that during a very brief chat with my wife, Mrs Camilleri heard her say, “Yes my husband keeps a firearm upstairs’’.

Notwithsta­nding a good number of emails sent to Superinten­dent D’Anastasi at St Julian’s Police Station, he has flatly refused up to this very day to reply, even to several telephone calls to his office. On the contrary, he has most unethicall­y even contacted Mrs Camilleri by email also citing me, ‘’You have no valid right to get back the pistol-CASE being monitored’’.

On the basis of my legally proven innocence, I wonder how a top-flight advocate would react when consulted and this‘ CASE’ is finally taken to a Court of Law!

I depend on justice and merciful compassion (age 86) since I am in a very poor state of health suffering constant pain from a non-replaceabl­e right hip. I have been confined to my study for over 11 months already this year, on account of not having found a really ablebodied escort – a two-hour walk per week – to guide me through the heavy traffic in Swieqi plus the multi building constructi­ons just outside my residence and more to materializ­e this very year.

Above all these inevitable vicissitud­es, I must restrain from causing much visible concern to my wife and family, over my frequent letters on this terrible matter to the obliging local press.

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