A court has ordered that Roger Agius be medically examined in order to establish the truth of his claim to be suffering from epilepsy, a condition for which he had been receiving medical benefit payments.

Former government MP and medical doctor Silvio Grixti, together with Dustin Caruana, Manuel Spagnol, Luke Saliba and Roger Agius, were back in court before Magistrate Rachel Montebello on Wednesday as the criminal proceedings against them continued.

The men are accused of fraud, forming part of a criminal organisation and money laundering, in connection with a fraudulent medical benefits racket.

During the sitting, the prosecution requested the court appoint a medical expert in order to examine Agius and Saliba, in order to establish whether they suffered from the medical conditions they had been claiming benefits for.

Agius’ lawyer, Jason Azzopardi, did not object to the request, but asked to be allowed to also inspect every medical file pertaining to his client.

But Saliba’s lawyer, Jose Herrera, described the request as “unexpected,” saying that it would have implications on his client’s privacy and right not to incriminate himself. 

Herrera asked that the request be made in writing. The court immediately replied that the request had already been made, but offered the defence an option to file a written reply.

The court will rule on Saliba’s request in the next sitting, after hearing the lawyers’ arguments on the matter.

The sitting was adjourned to September.

Prosecutors Abigail Caruana Vella and Charmaine Abdilla from the Office of the Attorney General are assisting police inspectors Andy Rotin, Wayne Borg and Shaun Friggieri. Lawyer Anita Giordimaina is representing the Department of Social Security.

Caruana and Spagnol are being assisted by lawyers Michael Sciriha, Lucio Sciriha and Roberto Spiteri, while lawyers Jason Azzopardi and Kris Busietta are representing Agius.

Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Franco Debono are Grixti’s defence counsel. Saliba is being represented by lawyers Josè Herrera and Matthew Xuereb.