News | Sunday, 15 February 2009

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Education division unaware of teacher on drug charges becuase of court ban

A man arrested for ecstasy possession managed to get employed as a supply teacher because a court ban protected his identity

Matthew Vella
A court ban on the publication of the name of an alleged drug trafficker left education authorities in the dark over who they were employing as a teacher in 2007.
The education division was unaware that Simon Linton Sancto, a graduate they had employed in 2003 and again in 2007 to work as a supply teacher, had been arrested for drug trafficking in 2005, because his name was banned from publication by court order.
Magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna issued the ban during the compilation of evidence stage, but the reason was not made public at the time.
Sancto’s name only became public recently after the Attorney General presented its bill of indictment in the Criminal Court.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Education has now confirmed Sancto’s employment was terminated on 25 January 2009, because the education division became aware that he was involved in drugs.
The timing coincides with the Criminal Court sentence last week that asked the Attorney General to revise its bill of indictment against Sancto.
“The division stopped his employment when it became aware that he was involved in drugs, before the expiry of his contract,” a spokesperson for the ministry said.
The reply contrasts with the claims of the permanent secretary, who this week told MaltaToday that Sancto’s employment was terminated in January 2008, and only because his services were “no longer needed” – rather than finding his pending criminal charges to be incongruent with his educational role.
Sancto, 26 from Qala, was arrested in December 2005 after a police chase that ended outside the Sliema police station. He was found in possession of 1,954 ecstasy pills and a quantity of cannabis, as well as a shotgun and cartridges.
Tellingly, the ban on the publication of his name was the probable reason why Sancto was employed as a supply teacher in October 2007 with no trouble at all despite the pending charges, because the education division was not aware at the time of the arrest.
“It is incorrect to say that his drug charges were ignored when he was employed. The division did not know anything about these charges. The police conduct at that stage had no reference to this,” the ministry spokesperson said.
And although Sancto remains innocent until proven guilty, clearly the education division is not waiting for any outcome on his case, having terminated his employment ahead of his trial.
Speaking to MaltaToday, the headmaster of the Kullegg Santa Tereza said Sancto was sent to the school as a supply teacher to assist a Somali pupil in his Maltese lessons.
“All I can say is that he performed miracles with this child,” headmaster Joe Grima said. “I didn’t know about the criminal charges, but he rendered his services here with flying colours.”

Criminal trial
Apart from trafficking charges, Sancto is also accused of resisting and assaulting inspector Pierre Grech and two constables who tried to stop him. Sancto was apprehended by police after his Mitsubishi Pajero was stopped in its tracks by police cars outside the Sliema police station, on 7 December 2005, after the police had been observing his movements for some days. Sancto tried to run away by driving first into the police blocking him from the front, and then ramming the police car blocking him from the rear.
Police inspector Pierre Grech, who led the prosecution against the Gozitan in the Magistrates’ Court, said Sancto had collaborated with investigators and had named other persons involved in the case. He was defended by lawyers Joseph Giglio and José Herrera.
Last week, Judge Joseph Galea Debono ordered the Attorney General to correct several charges on the bill of indictment and deferred Sancto’s trial until such time. At this point, the prosecution has to amend a number of charges, and pending any appeal that Sancto might present on the bill of indictment, his case will then go to trial.

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