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No Action By Adrian Delia Against Shadow Minister’s Medical Certificate Racket Despite New Video Footage

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Left: Snapshot from the video footage, Right-top: Adrian Delia, Right-bottom: Stephen Spiteri

Opposition leader Adrian Delia has confirmed he won’t take action against shadow health minister Stephen Spiteri after viewing video footage that appears to show he had signed medical certificates without even seeing his patients and had even signed one for a person who doesn’t exist.

This clip, which appears to date back to November 2017, shows two people calling up Spiteri’s Kalkara pharmacy to confirm they can leave their details along with €5 at the counter and pick up their medical certificates later.

It also appears to show a man successfully using a pseudonym to get Spiteri to sign a medical certificate which would excuse him from work for three days. The receptionist can be seen retrieving this certificate from a folder which contained several other medical certificates.

Lovin Malta received the footage last week and forwarded it to Delia for comment but has refrained from publishing it at this stage.

However, Delia yesterday said he will await the outcome of an ongoing investigation by the Medical Council before pronouncing himself on Spiteri.

He argued that the new footage doesn’t add more substance to a telephone recording with Spiteri’s receptionist published by Lovin Malta in 2017, in which she revealed a medical certificate racket at the shadow health minister’s Kalkara pharmacy.

The recording published by Lovin Malta in 2017

Anyone requiring a medical certificate could simply leave their personal details along with €5 at the pharmacy and pick up the signed certificate later on, despite not having even seen Spiteri.

“Just come here and we’ll write a paper for him with your details, you pay €5 and then you come for it at about 7pm, tomorrow though, because he won’t be here,” the receptionist told Lovin Malta. Asked what time Spiteri attended the pharmacy, the receptionist said: “At 10am but he never finishes them at that time because he’ll have many (to sign).”

However, Spiteri has denied the allegations, arguing that the phone call was held with his receptionist, “who was prompted and led on to tell the caller what he wanted to hear”.

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Stephen Spiteri (second from right) with Opposition leader Adrian Delia

During a recent interview, Delia said he doesn’t believe Spiteri committed any wrongdoing but that he will take action if it is proven that he has.

“I don’t think that Stephen Spiteri signed medical certificates for people he hadn’t seen and I’m not aware that there is any formal investigation which is ongoing,” he said. “When I last spoke to Spiteri about this a few months ago, he had given me assurances that made me feel comfortable, and yes, I am completely comfortable with Stephen Spiteri.”

“However, this is premised. If there’s any finding of illegality or untowardness, then there’s no two weights, two measures with me, that’s very simple.”

READ NEXT: WATCH: Adrian Delia Pledges Action Against Shadow Minister If Fake Medical Certificate Proof Emerges

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]

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