Labour leader Alfred Sant called yesterday for all the facts surrounding the tragic death of a 19-year-old girl on New Year’s Eve to be made public. The girl died after falling from the bastions opposite the Mediterranean Conference Centre.

Addressing the media in front of the MCC, Dr Sant said many questions remained unanswered. Once again he called for an independent inquiry that would take into consideration certain issues such as how the permits for the party at the MCC were issued, what conditions were imposed on the organisers, and the way the party was organised.

The Justice and Home Affairs Ministry later said, however, that the magisterial inquiry was more than an administrative type of investigation. The ministry added that the permits had been issued in the usual way and the usual conditions had been imposed on the organisers.

During the press conference, the Labour Party leader said he was disappointed that the Prime Minister and the Justice and Home Affairs Minister had replied in the negative to his call for a separate inquiry.

Dr Sant said he was still waiting for answers to many questions. He asked under what circumstances the permit for the party had been issued and what conditions were imposed on the organisers by the board of the MCC.

He alleged that the police had first objected to the party being held, but two days before the event, the necessary permits had been issued.

Dr Sant also asked why the sale of tickets began weeks before the event, when the permit was issued only two days before.

According to information on the MCC website, he said, the venue can hold up to 2,500 people. “However, Police Commissioner Rizzo has said that over 3,000 people attended,” he said.

He also demanded to know how much the organisers had paid the MCC to organise the event and called for confirmation from St Luke’s Hospital that no one from that particular party had been admitted suffering from alcohol intoxication. “I know the police said that no one was taken to hospital, but I want St Luke’s to confirm this,” he said.

Dr Sant asked whether a meeting had been held between the MCC chairman Peter Fenech and the organisers of the party a few days after the tragedy, and if so, what was discussed.

Also present at the press conference were Dr Gavin Gulia, Evarist Bartolo, Jason Micallef and Carmelo Abela.

The Justice and Home Affairs Ministry later denied the allegations made by Dr Sant. It said that the magisterial inquiry was the same type that the Labour leader was asking for and was more than just an administrative investigation.

In its statement, the ministry confirmed that the applications for permits had been issued in the usual manner and the same conditions had been imposed on the organisers.

“It is not true either that the police did not want the party to be held... in fact, similar permits were issued the previous year,” the ministry said.

The ministry said that a petition had been presented by local residents but when this was examined by the licences advisory board, it was discovered that the signatures on the petition did not belong to the people who should have signed it. Therefore, the necessary permit was issued subject to the same conditions.

The Justice and Home Affairs Ministry said this was not the first party to be held at the MCC.

“One of these parties had been organised on New Year’s Eve in 1997/1998 – when Alfred Sant was responsible for the police corps – and no police were present at the party.”

Apart from the magisterial inquiry, the government had also appointed a commission to examine all the legislation related to places of entertainment, the statement said.

In a separate statement, the Mediterranean Conference Centre board said that it will not release any comments related to the case in respect of the magisterial inquiry.

However, in view of the fact that some of Dr Sant’s allegations are not directly related to the case, they are informing the public that a parliamentary question has already been answered in relation to the conditions imposed on the party organisers.

The board confirmed that the party venue is certified to accommodate more than 4,000 people, and that any meetings that the board chairman and MCC staff had with the organisers were held according to normal procedures.

In another statement, the police said that comments made by the Police Commissioner in the editorial meeting held on 13 January concerned the issuing of police permits for an activity that was to be held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre on New Year's Eve and the surveillance the police usually carry out during such events.

As explained during the meeting, at no stage of the processing of this application were there any objections by the police. However, since a petition signed by 36 people objecting to the party had been sent to the police, the district police referred the application to the Police Commissioner, recomm-ending that the petition be referred to the Police Licences Advisory Board, as requested by regulations drawn up in 1991.

The Commissioner referred the application to the board. It later resulted that the signatures on the petition were false. The police statement added that a person who lives in the vicinity, after being contacted by police, said he was willing to voice his objection in front of the board.

After the board took note of this objection, it advised the Police Commissioner to issue the permit for this activity under the usual conditions.

As to the capacity of the venue in question, as is the norm during the processing of similar applications, an architect’s certificate was requested. In this case, an architect declared that the place could accommodate 4,080 people, and it was according to this certificate that the application was processed.