Keith Schembri has dismissed suggestions that his three-day holiday to Italy is actually an attempt to abscond from Malta, saying that he bought a return ticket.
Joseph Muscat’s former chief of staff is a person of interest in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder investigation, but was given permission to travel abroad with his family by the police.
“Listen, I’m going to tell you what I told investigators. How could I possibly be escaping the country when I bought a return ticket? They were happy with my answer, so why can’t everyone else be too?” Schembri told Bis-Serjetà from his hotel in Bologna.
“Honestly, do you think I’d waste 25 euro – 75 if you include my wife and daughter – on a Ryanair flight that I never intend to catch? I even paid for extra baggage, pre-ordered meals and a raffle ticket for God’s sake.
“And besides, not turning up at the gate and delaying a flight is really rude, not to mention embarrassing. ‘Final call for Mr Keith Schembri’ – can you imagine? My reputation is in tatters as it is.”
Asked why he was visiting Bologna in particular, Schembri said:
“Well, you know, Bologna is the lively, historic capital of the Emilia-Romagna region, in northern Italy. Its Piazza Maggiore is a sprawling plaza lined with arched colonnades, cafes and medieval and Renaissance structures such as City Hall, the Fountain of Neptune and the Basilica di San Petronio. Among the city’s many medieval towers are the Two Towers, leaning Asinelli and Garisenda.”
Schembri also rubbished the idea that the flight to Bologna was merely the first leg of his escape.
“Ryanair don’t even fly to Azerbaijan. Not that I checked, of course.
