A private citizen who featured in a Smash TV programme talk show last week is claiming he was threatened by two men posing as police officers, who warned him to “shut up” and not to participate in a TV show.
In a report filed with the St Julian’s police on Sunday 20 January, Jo Said from Mellieha said he was driving home towards his residence at around 9.00am when a white vehicle came headlong towards his car, cutting off his route.
The incident happened in Selmun Road, where Said lives. He told police officers that two persons, unknown to him, stopped their car right in front of him, showed him police identification and told him: “Shut up, don’t say anything because our eyes are on you, and stop that programme.”
Said was featured as a ‘floating voter’ in the Smash talk show Realtà, presented by Brian Hansford, on Monday last week (14 January), in which he levelled several accusations at the Nationalist government. The programme featured Nationalist MP David Agius and Labour MP Helena Dalli, and contractor Sandro Chetcuti, booked in as a ‘floating voter’ on the programme which was meant to deal with the subject of floating voters.
The show soon turned into a tour de force by participant Jo Said, who levelled accusations at the government and several ministers. He is now facing several libel suits by PN exponents.
Presenter Brian Hansford confirmed with MaltaToday that shortly after the recording of the programme, parliamentary secretary Tonio Fenech called in to complain about an allegation aired by Said. The programme had not been yet aired on television but it appears he was informed of the allegation, soon after the show.
Fenech’s complaint concerned an allegation by Said who claimed he was involved in an altercation with Tonio Fenech while driving – the part was later edited out of the programme and never made it to the final airing.
Hansford confirmed the allegation was edited out of the programme. “Tonio Fenech said the allegation was libellous, and I cut it out because I thought it was libellous as well.”
Attempts to contact Tonio Fenech yesterday evening proved futile. The parliamentary secretary was in Brussels for the European Union’s finance ministers’ meeting.
In the meantime, the Minister for Rural Affairs and Environment George Pullicino is expected to serve two libel suits to both Jo Said and Sandro Chetcuti over allegations on the minister and the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.
PN information secretary Gordon Saliba also said that secretary-general Joe Saliba will be filing libel suits against Jo Said, over his comments on Saliba on the Smash programme, and One News, for relaying Said’s comments on its Saturday bulletin.
No suit was filed against Smash TV at the time of going to press.

mvella@mediatoday.com.mt