Insp. Haber was testifying in the case against Reuben Galea, a 29-year-old from Msida who is accused of conspiring to take illegal immigrants out of Malta.

The inspector said Galea, who was also charged with relapsing in view of previous convictions, admitted he intended to take the five people to Sicily. He had said that a man named Anthony Borg had hired him to transport these immigrants and they had covered the speed boat to be used on the trip with maroon contact paper, since it was originally yellow.

The accused did not sign the statement in which he admitted the crime, said insp. Haber.

Han Chong, one of the Chinese nationals found on the speedboat, also took the stand at yesterday’s sitting. He confirmed that the accused had been driving the boat that was to take him, another two Chinese and two Libyans to Sicily. The first time he saw Galea was when they were about to leave, he said.

They had been out at sea for one-and-a-half hours before the boat’s engine stopped. Mr Chong said he could not see anything because he was sitting in the boat’s cabin. “After that we drifted for about 100 hours,” the witness continued, before a fishing boat came to their rescue.

Mr Chong said he knew the accused, and the two Maltese men who had picked him up to take him to the speed boat had mentioned they were taking him and the other immigrants to Sicily.

He said he did not speak to Galea because his knowledge of the English language was very limited. In fact, he was assisted by an interpreter in court yesterday.

The witness gave an account of the events that led up to the botched-up voyage. He said a woman living in the same apartment block as him had told him she could act as an intermediary and arrange for him to go to Sicily without the need of a visa.

One week before 2 October, which is when they left for Sicily, Mr Chong said he was told to go to and live in Bugibba and wait there until he was picked up for departure.

On 2 October, two Maltese men picked him up. The witness said the accused was not one of those men; he only met Galea later, when they arrived at the place of departure. Mr Chong said he did not know where the place was, he just knew it was near the sea.

He said he paid one of the two men who picked him up $1,100 and also paid the woman who organised the trip $400. He boarded the speedboat together with another two Chinese, two Libyans and the accused. He said the other two Maltese men stayed behind.

Inspector Mario Haber prosecuted while Dr Jason Azzopardi appeared for Galea. Magistrate Tonio Micallef Trigona presided over the court.

The case continues.