The compilation of evidence in the case against two soldiers charged with the brutal murder of an innocent man in Hal Far last month took off yesterday, with more shocking details emerging in the courtroom.
Perhaps the most disturbing detail to come out yesterday was the fact that the 6 April shooting was not some one-off incident, but was rather part of a repetitive behavioural pattern.
The court heard how the two soldiers accused of Souleymane Cisse Lassane’s murder went out driving on several occasions. On the day of the murder, the idea was to find a cat to kill, the court was told, but instead of killing an animal the men ended up killing a man and seriously injuring two others.
One of the accused insisted that, although he does not like migrants, he would never have shot anyone. Yet these dangerous escapades continued and how such behaviour displayed by a member of the armed forces went unnoticed and unreported is beyond explanation.
The case has only just started and it would be, at this stage, premature to comment further. However, we would like to comment the investigators on their excellent police work, which was aided by CCTV technology.
The issue of CCTV cameras planted around the island is always a topic of controversy, with many individuals saying that impinges on their right to privacy. Yet this case clearly showed how such technology is crucial in solving difficult crimes.
In the days after the shooting, many said that the case was difficult to track because there were no eyewitnesses apart from the victims who survived, and because the shooting took place in a remote location.
But one of the prosecutors explained yesterday how the car used in the drive-by shooting was caught on camera in the vicinity of the crime scene. The police narrowed their search and, with the use of other cameras worked out the make of the car and also the route taken on the day. The footage reviewed by police helped investigators track down the vehicle to the Tarxien area.
With help from Transport Malta and an automatic number plate recognition system installed in Marsa, they narrowed down the search further, eventually tracking down the owner.
Once the owner had been identified it was easy work, with the accused admitting under interrogation that they were indeed behind the heinous crime.
The police do not always get credit for the hard work they do, and the fact that issues related to the force are often highly politicised does not help at all. But in this case, and many others we should applaud our boys and girls in blue.