Employment grew faster in Malaga than anywhere else in Spain in 2017

64 Pages·2017·7.81 MB·English

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THE NEWSPAPER FOR An executive
SOUTHERN SPAIN
mind teaching
Official market leader equality
Audited by PGD/OJD
in English January 5th to 11th 2018
www.surinenglish.com
From Lillehammer to
Seville, Brita Hetkoen
News 2 Food & Drink 47 paves the way for
CLiofmesmtyelen t 2268 MSpyo Hrto me 4593 women among the
What To Do 42 Classified 56 business elite
Health & Beauty 37 Pastimes 62 P28
Employment
grew faster in
Malaga than
anywhere else
in Spain in 2017
During the last 12 months, the number
of people paying into the social
security system increased 5.2%
Malaga was the Spanish province a quarter of the 100,000 extra in An-
where employment increased the dalucía overall. The number of reg-
A REGAL END TO THE HOLIDAYS
most in 2017, according to official istered unemployed in Malaga prov-
figures released on Wednesday. The ince ended the year on 157,573,
province saw an increase of 28,486 roughly the same figure as 2009,
people paying into the social secu- just ahead of the worst years of the
rity system through work, just over global economic crisis. P21
Children all over Spain prepare for
the visit tonight of the Three Kings
bearing gifts and plenty of sweets
Sewage treatment systems P18&33
on the Costa suffer under
the weight of wet wipes

P2&3 The Wise Men pay an early visit to a local district in Malaga. :: EDUARDO NIETO
Protests increase over
use of Archidona prison
as an immigrant centre
after an Algerian inmate
was found hanging where
he was being held
P6
Government closes in on
holiday rental tax fraud
as law will oblige platforms
such as Airbnb to give
details of property owners
to Hacienda
P16
Traditional food festivals
in store for 2018. The
province celebrates its
gastronomical heritage all
year round
P47&48
222222222222222 NEWS January 5th to 11th 2018
SUR IN ENGLISH
Wet wipes are causing big problems
for the sewage treatment system
paigns to raise awareness of this THE DAMAGE CAUSED wipes. It can’t deal with them be- As a result, in the pumping and
problem, but they have had little BY WET WIPES, IN cause they are made with textile treatment stations in Malaga prov-
result because many still use the FIGURES fibres which form a skein, and this ince an average of 400 tonnes of
lavatory as a rubbish bin without is impossible to undo; as well as rubbish has to be removed every
FRANCISCO
JIMÉNEZ realising, or maybe not caring, that 400 blocking the pipes they also break month; of this more than 90 per
these products do not disappear by the equipment. Wet wipes are now cent contains wet wipes.
 [email protected] magic when the chain is pulled. used in many homes, and families In addition to this, some wet
Quite the contrary, in fact: they tonnes of rubbish a month are are misled by manufacturers who wipes disposed of down the toilet
Every month in Malaga
accumulate into an enormous mass removed from the pumping claim they are biodegradable. Some never reach the plant; they accu-
province 400 tonnes which obstructs the downpipes of and treatment plants in the even say on the label that they can mulate in the pipes and when it
blocks of apartments and, once in province, and more than 90 per be disposed of down the lavatory rains the waste becomes tangled
of rubbish have to be
the outside pipes, the manholes, col- cent are wet wipes. In addition with no problem. up in the drains, collectors and
removed from the lectors and pumping and treatment to this figure, others have to be spillways. Everyone knows what
systems as well. They cause the removed from apartment Slow decomposition happens then: unpleasant smells
pipes because it
equipment to break down on a regu- blocks by specialist companies, Technically, yes, they do decom- and pools of sewage coming from
causes blockages and lar basis, and when that happens and some end up in the pipes pose when they come into contact the drains and flowing into the riv-
waste ends up flowing into rivers, and come out through the spill- with the water but it takes about ers, streams or directly into the
sewage overflows
streams or directly into the sea ways when the pipes cannot two weeks for them to do so, while sea, because the equipment just
through the spillways. The problem cope with the increased flow ordinary toilet paper degrades in can’t cope.
is especially serious on rainy days resulting from rainfall or a matter of hours. This was dem- “It doesn’t matter how much we
MALAGA. Cotton buds, tampons, because in most towns the rainwater breakdowns. onstrated recently in a laboratory invest in technology to try to filter
condoms, bits of food, used oil, and waste use the same pipes and test carried out by the Emasa mu- wet wipes, or how many awareness
nappies... people throw a wide va- these end up overflowing. 10-18% nicipal water company in Malaga: campaigns are carried out, while
riety of things down the lavatory, The problem of cotton buds and it subjected wet wipes, moist toi- they continue to be sold as if they
but what is causing the biggest other personal hygiene products let paper and conventional toilet were biodegradable and people keep
headaches for the people who look is nothing new. In fact, the sani- is the extra cost of maintenance paper to constant movement and throwing them down the toilet
after our sewage pipes are wet tation companies have learned to and repairs which are necessary compared how long it took them there is nothing we can do about
wipes; originally designed to be live with them by introducing new due to the presence of wet wipes to decompose. it,” says Emasa’s director of Main-
used for babies in recent years they equipment. However, what the in the network, according to the Bearing in mind that it takes up tenance and Treatment, Concepción
have commonly been used by the system can’t cope with, and what Spanish Association of Water to 48 hours from the time the cis- Fernández Cotrina, resignedly.
whole family. causes the most frequent prob- Supplies and Sanitation (AEAS). tern is flushed to the arrival of the She says wet wipes have become
There have been numerous cam- lems, is the daily avalanche of wet Nationally, the figure is around waste at the treatment plant, it is the most serious problem for the
200 million euros. obvious that this is not long system, even the ones which are
enough for the material to degrade. degradable, because when they de-
A tangle of wet wipes removed
from the downpipe of a block of
apartments. :: SUR
A blocked pump at the
Rincón de la Victoria
pumping station. :: SUR
48
Domestic system Sediment accumulation Treatment cycle
When the wipes and Given their high absorption It takes a maximum of 48
other solid waste are wipes tend to get caught on hours for items thrown
flushed down the toilet any rough surfaces inside down the toilet to arrive at
they causes blockages pipes or stuck in those with- the sewage plant, but wet
in the building’s pipes out a steep incline and the wipes take two weeks to
and collectors. layers accumulate. decompose.
January 5th to 11th 2018 NEWS 3
SUR IN ENGLISH
compose their particles are scat- down the lavatory’. However, the
A bad habit that is good for Laboratory tests show
tered about and they create micro- magnitude of the problem is multi-
plastics which end up in the sea plied in places like Malaga, where it that the majority of wet
with no type of filter. drain-cleaning companies rarely rains and, when it does, it is
wipes take two weeks to
“We’re not trying to stop them torrential, so that the wet wipes
being sold, we just want the peo- which for months have remained decompose
ple who use them to throw them sedimented in the pipes are pushed
into the rubbish bin, not down the :: F. JIMÉNEZ pany benefits financially from all to the pumping stations (which in
lavatory,” says Concepción, as she MALAGA. “When we started in this work, he insists that they al- turn push the waste water to the treat-
shows us how in just 24 hours a 1999 we were one of only three ways tell people to throw wet ment plants), causing problems in extra pressure on human and tech-
container which can hold eight cu- companies of this type. Now there wipes into the rubbish bin, not pumps and filters. nical resources, not to mention the
bic metres has been filled with wet are 25 in this province but we have down the toilet. “Obviously it “When there is a blockage the ma- environmental damage caused, but
wipes removed from the Guadal- even more work than we did then, would be good for us if they threw chine stops operating, the water level the AEAS Spanish Water Supply and
horce treatment plant. mainly because people’s pipes keep even more away like that, but we rises and the drains overflow into the Sewage Association calculates that
“This is a normal day. When it getting blocked by wet wipes.” honestly tell them not to do it. streets, streams or onto the beach,” when people throw rubbish down
rains, it is much worse. One con- Enrique Godoy, the head of When we are called out by a com- explains Jorge Gil, head of the collec- the toilet it increases the treatment
tainer after another,” says an em- Desatoros Malaga, describes per- munity of owners we always ex- tor drains department at the Acosol costs by between ten and 18 per cent,
ployee, briefly removing the mask fectly the situation caused by plain the problems that wet wipes water company, which is part of the which is about 200 million euros a
he has to wear because of the stench people throwing wet wipes cause and we even put up posters, Mancomunidad de Municipios of the year. Although this cost is initially
from the mass of wipes mixed with down the lavatory: plenty of but within two or three months western Costa del Sol. met by the companies, it is eventu-
waste water that have to be re- work for the drain-cleaning com- the pipes are full again,” he says. Apart from the environmental im- ally paid for by consumers through
moved manually from the machin- panies, but a major headache for Ana Núñez, of Desatoros Pepe pact, he emphasises the “appalling” their water bills.
ery. sewage companies. Núñez, agrees. “Even though there cost of preventive maintenance work, Sources at Axaragua, the company
This is a global problem, and “The problem, apart from them has been more information in re- investment in new equipment and which handles sewage treatment
companies from 25 countries have not decomposing, is that they don’t cent years and the wet wipes they constant repairs, especially because in the main coastal towns in the Ax-
now set up the International Group pass smoothly down the pipe. They make nowadays do decompose on days when the flow increases no arquía region, estimate that clean-
of Water Service Operators to es- get stuck and accumulate, and better, the truth is that most of equipment could deal with it. ing the pumps and pipes, removing
tablish a set of conditions with gradually they form a blockage,” our work is unclogging the drains and treating the rubbish, maintain-
Extra cost
which products must comply if says Enrique. of apartment blocks precisely be- ing and improving equipment and
tthheeyy aarree ttoo bbee llaabbeelllleedd ‘ddiissppoossaabbllee Despite the fact that his com- cause of this problem,” she says. IItt iiss nnoott eeaassyy ttoo ppuutt aa ffiigguurree oonn tthhiiss repairing breakdowns puts the cost
of dealing with the wet wipes at
more than 400,000 euros a year.
“People don’t realise the prob-
lems that are caused when they
don’t dispose of wet wipes properly,
because when they put them down
the lavatory it causes blockages in
the whole network, starting with
the domestic pipes and then con-
tinuing in the public ones,” says An-
tolín de Benito, of Axaragua.
As Jorge Gil also stresses, “the
fact that when you throw a wet
wipe down the lavatory it disap-
pears, does not mean that the per-
son who flushes bears no respon-
sibility for the damage they have
caused.”
Wet wipes that ended up in the
Guadalmedina river after the
rain in October.
:: ÁLVARO CABRERA
An Emasa employee removes the filtered wet wipes which have accumulated in
the Guadalhorce treatment plant in just 24 hours. :: SALVADOR SALAS
Rainfall and breakdowns In the sea
When more water flows When the wet wipes
down the drains an accumu- are discharged into the
lated mass of wet wipes goes sea they stay on the
with it and the pumps can’t bottom and are washed
cope or become blocked, so back to shore on windy
the water passes unfiltered days.
through the spillways.
4 NEWS January 5th to 11th 2018
SUR IN ENGLISH
After a review of rateable values the IBI tax
will be lower in 26 municipalities in 2018
In Marbella there will be a
taxes, the rateable value of a prop-
reduction of nine per erty can also affect national taxes
(income and wealth tax) and re-
cent and in Benalmádena
gional ones such as inheritance, gifts
four per cent, but in
and wealth transfers. But there are
Nerja and Benahavís the other aspects too, because as well
as for tax purposes, the rateable
rate will increase
value is also taken into account if a
property owner applies for any form
:: FRANCISCO JIMÉNEZ of public assistance, such as subsi-
MALAGA. If you own a property dised housing, an educational grant,
(a home, commercial premises or a place in a home for the elderly or
land) in Nerja, Benahavís, Fuente even legal aid.
de Piedra, Alcaucín or Periana you Of the 31 municipalities affected
will probably pay more for IBI tax this year, the five where the ‘valor
in 2018. On the other hand, if your catastral’ was last reviewed prior to
property is in a large town such as 2004 will see the rate increase by a
Marbella or Benalmádena, or in 24 coefficient that ranges from three
small municipalities in the prov- per cent in Nerja, where the last re-
ince such as Colmenar, Riogordo view was in 2003, and five per cent
or Manilva, your IBI this year is in Benahavís, where nothing has
likely to be lower. changed since 1996. In other words,
This comes, of course, after years the more time which has passed
of suffering the effects of the ‘ca- Marbella will see the greatest reduction in its rateable values this year (9 per cent). :: JOSELE-LANZA since the last review, the greater the
tastrazo’, when the rateable val- increase in the rateable value of the
ues were set a decade ago at a time property.
when construction was booming, VALOR CATASTRAL MUNICIPALITIES WITH NEW COEFFICIENTS IN 2018 On the contrary, the 26 munici-
and then the property bubble burst palities which updated their figures
and market prices plunged. W hat is it? It is an administra- Municipality Last review Variation in 2018 between 2005 and 2012, during the
Nothing can be done about that tive value set objectively for each AAllccaauuccíínn 22000000 ++44%% height of the property bubble, will
situation now, but in 26 munici- property after taking into ac- Almachar 2008 -4% now see the set values reduce.
palities in Malaga province the count a series of criteria such as AAllppaannddeeiirree 22000077 --44%% In Marbella, the corrective coeffi-
‘valor catastral’ is being reduced so its location, size, cost of con- Ardales 2007 -4% cient which will be applied this year
taxes such as the Impuesto sobre struction, age, use and price of AAttaajjaattee 22000099 --44%% to the figures which have been in
Bienes Inmuebles (IBI) or the mu- the land. Benadalid 2008 -4% force since 2012 is 0.91; this is a re-
nicipal capital gains tax which is BBeennaahhaavvííss 11999966 ++55%% duction of nine per cent and the sav-
paid when a property is sold or U ses for tax purposes. The Benalmádena 2006 -4% ing for property owners in IBI alone
when somebody inherits or is ‘valor catastral’ is used as a refer- BBeennaammaarrggoossaa 22000099 --44%% is estimated to be four million euros.
gifted a property, will be lower. ence to set a figure for municipal Carratraca 2008 -4% As an example, a property valued
This situation is due to the cor- taxes (IBI and capital gains) re- CCaassaarraabboonneellaa 22000088 --44%% at 100,000 euros in 2012 will now
rective coefficients which were gional taxes (inheritance and Casares 2006 -4% be registered at 91,000 and this will
approved by parliament at its last gifts, and transfers of wealth) and CCaaññeettee llaa RReeaall 22000077 --44%% be the value that the administra-
session of 2017, for the 31 councils national taxes (income and Colmenar 2011 -5% tion will take as a reference when
in the province which had either wealth). CCoorrtteess ddee llaa FFrroonntteerraa 22000077 --44%% calculating the base rate of every
requested a review or are officially Fuente de Piedra 1998 +4% tax. In Benalmádena, the reduction
entitled to apply the new values O ther uses. Although origi- GGeennaallgguuaacciill 22000088 --44%% is four per cent.
to adjust to market prices. nally the aim of the ‘valor catas- Guaro 2006 -4% As a general rule, councils are
The measure affects the base tral’ was for tax purposes, the data IIgguuaalleejjaa 22000088 --44%% obliged to update their rateable val-
rate for the tax, and it can be al- is also used by public administra- Macharaviaya 2008 -4% ues every ten years, but this rarely
tered upwards or downwards. Al- tions to determine the financial MMaanniillvvaa 22001111 --55%% occurs even though the tax office
though in Malaga most rateable capacity of the property owners Marbella 2012 -9% has the power to do so itself or take
values have dropped, the situation in cases such as applying for pro- MMoocclliinneejjoo 22000088 --44%% action against them. The munici-
in the rest of the country is not as tected housing, educational Nerja 2003 +3% palities can also ask for a review be-
clear: in 1,296 municipalities the grants, access to homes for the OOjjéénn 22001111 --55%% fore 31 May each year, as long as five
rate has increased, and it has elderly or legal aid. Periana 2000 +4% years have passed since the last col-
dropped in 535. PPiizzaarrrraa 22001100 --44%% lective valuation (in this case be-
Pujerra 2008 -4% fore 2013), and there is a substan-
Other taxes RRiiooggoorrddoo 22000077 --44%% tial difference between market
It is worth pointing out that as well Valle de Abdalajís 2009 -4% prices and the rateable values
as its effects on the municipal VViillllaannuueevvaa ddee AAllggaaiiddaass 22000077 --44%% which are in force.
January 5th to 11th 2018 5
SUR IN ENGLISH
6 NEWS January 5th to 11th 2018
SUR IN ENGLISH
Protests increase over Archidona immigrant Immigrant boat
with 58 sub-
detention centre after apparent suicide
Saharans on
board is rescued
off Costa del Sol
A 36-year-old Algerian
man’s body, there were increased
man was found hanged protests from campaigners at the
gates of the centre as well as other :: SUR
and opposition politicians,
points in the area including Plaza MALAGA. A boat carrying 58
charities and human
de la Merced in the centre of Malaga. illegal immigrants from sub-Sa-
rights groups have called haran Africa was rescued off the
Attempt to stop buses Costa del Sol on Saturday, 30th
for deportations to be
Objectors have argued that the de- December. The vessel was spot-
halted during the inquiry
portations should be stopped while ted some 45 miles offshore. Ten
the death is investigated. This week of those found were women. In
:: FERNANDO TORRES / the Junta de Andalucía regional gov- total 117 migrants were brought
JUAN CANO ernment and Malaga Acoge, a char- ashore in Andalucía on the same
MALAGA. Condemnation of the ity supporting immigrants, asked day.
use of the future Archidona prison the court in Archidona to stop two It was a busy end to a year
complex, in inland Malaga province, buses leaving the centre taking im- that saw a record number of il-
as a detention centre for illegal im- migrants away to Algeria, for fear legal immigrants found off the
migrants has increased this week. of the investigation being harmed Malaga coast, putting pressure
It follows the death of one of the if witnesses left. Family members on limited local resources to
detainees held there, a 36-year-old of the dead man and campaigners handle the influx.
man from Algeria who was found tried to stop the buses leaving on The opposition Socialist party
hanged on the morning of Friday, Monday, forcing police on duty at has said that central government
December 30th. The preliminary the gates to intervene. still hasn’t fixed a date to start
results of the autopsy suggested it The brother of the dead man (3rd from left) with supporters. :: F.T. Spain’s official immigrant cen- work on an improved reception
was a suicide. tres have no places available, forc- and handling centre at Malaga’s
The dead man was one of an es- going outrage at the temporary use National leader of the Izquierda ing the use of Archidona jail, accord- port.
timated 300 Algerians who were in- of the new prison facility. In No- Unida party, Alberto Garzón said ing to central government. Minis- It is calling for urgent im-
side awaiting processing of depor- vember 570 illegal Algerian immi- that “the death should weigh on the ter of the Interior, Juan Ignacio provements and says Malaga is
tation orders. Some opposition poli- grants, mostly from boats found off consciences of those running a pol- Zoido has explained the move by the only major port in Spain
ticians, civil rights groups and chari- the coast, were brought there as icy violating human rights”. saying that “the conditions in Ar- where there are no adequate fa-
ties have called for no more immi- other official detention centres were Appearing alongside campaign- chidona are the same [ as normal cilities to process illegal immi-
grants held there to be removed full, although gradually many have ers against the Archidona centre, the detention centres]”, adding that the grants “in a dignified way”.
while an investigation into the death been returned to Algeria. Sources brother of the dead man said that he decision to house immigrants there “ The government has no in-
continues. say that there has been a rise in un- used to speak with him daily and was taken to avoid putting them terest at all in finding a solution
The renewed criticism of the Ar- rest within the jail building as de- that he never talked about suicide. “into camps like you see in other to this problem,” said local MP,
chidona centre comes on top of on- portations increased. Following the discovery of the countries”. Miguel Ángel Heredia.
112 REPORTS
Council worker held over Man dies after fall
ex-girlfriend attack trying to enter a flat
MARBELLA MARBELLA
:: H.B. A council worker in the San :: J.C. Police are investigating the
Pedro district of Marbella has been circumstances behind the death of
held without bail following a pre- a middle-aged man who was found
sumed attack on his ex-girlfriend dead on the pavement by a block
in the street on 26 December. The of flats in Marbella. Investigators
alleged aggressor was already sub- are working on the hypothesis that
ject to a restraining order after an the victim had been trying to break
incident last summer. into a flat on the third floor and fell.
Stolen car found and routine checks on the Avenida
French driver arrested Rey Juan Carlos I when the offi-
cers caught him speeding.
The driver provided what po-
ALMUÑÉCAR lice suspected to be false identi-
:: J. RHODES. Local police in Al- fication and an investigation re-
muñécar detained a driver with vealed that the car, a black Peu-
French nationality last Friday on geot 308 with French number
suspicion of driving a stolen ve- plates, had been reported as sto-
hicle and falsifying documents. len by a French company on 1
The driver was stopped during March last year.
Bail denied to one of two Bather drowns off
held over Elviria death Torre del Mar
MARBELLA TORRE DEL MAR
:: A.F. A judge in Marbella has de- :: E.C. A 50-year-old man from
nied bail to one of the two Czech Torre del Mar was found floating
men arrested in connection with dead in the water off the beach near
last week’s death in a fight of a the lighthouse on Thursday morn-
44-year-old man in the Golden ing. Initial investigations pointed
Beach development of Elviria, to a drowning. According to sources,
east of Marbella. Two men, aged the man, who was found naked,
33 and 27 years, were held after was known to have health prob-
the attack. lems and was taking medication.
January 5th to 11th 2018 NEWS 7
SUR IN ENGLISH
Ten years with no news of Amy
could provide information that would
lead to the whereabouts of the young
girl. The following year they started
a campaign with the slogan ‘Amy’s
Day’, which took them around dif-
ferent towns in the province of
The Irish teenager
Amy Fitzpatrick, left, was last Malaga on the first day of each month
disappeared on New seen at 10pm on 1 January 2008 to remind people of the case.
in Calypso, Mijas Costa. Below, her In January 2012, the couple moved
Year’s Day 2008 when
mother and stepfather, David to Ireland, where Audrey’s son Dean
she was on her way Mahon, who was convicted in lived after moving back there a year
home from a friend’s 201166 ffoorr kkiilllliinngg AAmmyy’’ss bbrrootther. after Amy’s disappearance. But fate
house in Mijas :::: SSUURR was to deal another huge blow to the
Fitzpatrick family. Barely a year and
a half later, in May 2013, Dean was
fatally stabbed in a fight with his step-
:: JUAN CANO ffather in Coolock, a district on the
MALAGA. She had spent New Year’s nnoorth side of Dublin, near the flat the
Eve at her friend Ashley’s house, on ffaammily had moved into when they
the Calypso development in Mijas mmooved back to Ireland. He was 23.
Costa, to help look after her younger DDave Mahon was accused of kill-
brother. The next day, New Year’s iinngg his stepson. At the trial, which he
Day, they went to the Calahonda mar- aatttteended on the arm of Audrey, Dean
ket and returned to Ashley’s house. aannd Amy’s mother, he pleaded inno-
At 10pm Amy Fitzpatrick said good- cceent and blamed the death on an ac-
bye to her friend and set off for her ccident or possible suicide, stating that
home in Riviera del Sol, a walk of the youth had stabbed himself. The
around two kilometres on a tar- jury cleared him of murder but found
macked path (except for a 50-metre him guilty of manslaughter. In June
unsurfaced stretch) but that was lit- 2016 he was sentenced to seven years
tle-used. No one has seen her since. in prison. His appeal was rejected.
And that was ten years ago. On the tenth anniversary of Amy’s
The Irish teenager, who was then disappearance, her biological father,
15 years old, disappeared on that walk Christopher Fitzpatrick, has broken
home without a trace. The Guardia his silence and made statements to
Civil, who inspected the route she the Irish press.
should have taken, found no evidence “Christmas and New Year’s will
of an abduction, which is what her never be the same again. I am still
mother Audrey had feared had hap- devastated over the loss of my two
pened. Officers never ruled out that children, Amy and Dean,” he told the
theory although they initially gave Sunday World.
more credibility to the idea that Amy Fitzpatrick sent out a plea to any-
had run away of her own accord. She one with any relevant information
had apparently wanted to go and live they haven’t disclosed until now to
with her father, who had stayed in come forward.
Ireland when his marriage with her “I would like to ask people who
mother broke up. The teenager lived were there 10 years ago when Amy
in Mijas with her mother, brother went missing and may have informa-
and her mother’s partner, David tion they can now share, to contact
Mahon. the police,” he said. “People went back
Over the last decade the family to the UK and different parts of the
have launched several campaigns and world afterwards, and they should
tributes to keep Amy’s disappearance come forward.
in the public eye. In 2010, her mother “We just want to find Amy. We
and her partner even offered a reward know where Dean is, but to bring
of a million euros for anyone who Amy home would be great,” he added.
Police arrest two Six detained for conning 12
and returned to parental custody
while the inquiry continues.
Estepona teenagers, In an interview with the police, people out of 700,000 euros
in the company of his parents, the
alleged victim had described how using ‘Nigerian letters’ scam
accused of harassing a he had been hit, kicked and insulted
by the two youths who humiliated
him in front of the whole class. The
classmate for a year
attacks had started during the pre-
vious school year and continued in :: SUR counts in the names of cover com-
the autumn term to the point that MALAGA. National Police have panies in different Spanish cities
the boy did not want to go to school arrested six people in Barcelona, into which the money was paid.
and was seeing a psychologist. Malaga and Segovia for allegedly Three people have since been
Investigations into the
leged case of abuse to the police and The police’s search for witnesses defrauding 12 people out of arrested in Barcelona and two in
case, in which a 16-year- the investigation, which began at in the case not only produced re- 700,000 euros using the scam Malaga, while the alleged manager
the beginning of December, resulted ports that confirmed the boy’s alle- known as ‘Nigerian letters’. The of the false companies was de-
old boy reported
in the identification of two suspects, gations, but also discovered a new method involves the potential vic- tained in Segovia.
continued bullying, have
both minors from the same school. possible victim of the pair. tims being asked to pay a sum to The ‘Nigerian letters’ scam is by
revealed another victim The youths were arrested on 27 De- A girl of the same age told the po- cover tax before being able to claim no means new in the province of
cember in connection with alleged lice that she had witnessed the har- million-euro prize money. Malaga. In July 2005 more than
offences against moral integrity, assment suffered by the boy and The investigation was sparked 315 people were arrested in the so-
:: JUAN CANO confessed, in front of her parents, by a report made by an Australian called ‘Caso Nilo’ in connection
MALAGA. A year of being slapped, that she was also being bullied. citizen who had been conned out with fraud involving false lottery
kicked, insulted and humiliated on The school confirmed to police of 500,000 euros. After receiving prizes committed by an interna-
The youngsters, who could
a daily basis led to a 16-year-old stu- that the education system’s own a letter informing of a 1.9-million- tional criminal gang. In 2004 alone,
dent at a secondary school in Este- face charges of an offence protocol for cases of bullying had euro lottery prize the victim was some 20,000 people resident in
pona requiring psychological treat- against moral integrity, been activated when the situation told that “tax” had to be paid be- different countries had been taken
ment, and to the arrest of two of his was made known and the two ado- fore the winnings could be in. In the end 120 Nigerian nation-
have been suspended
classmates. lescents have been temporarily sus- claimed. als went on trial in Malaga’s pro-
The boy’s family reported the al- pended from school. The scammers opened bank ac- vincial court in 2011.
8 January 5th to 11th 2018
SUR IN ENGLISH
January 5th to 11th 2018 9
SUR IN ENGLISH
10 NEWS January 5th to 11th 2018
SUR IN ENGLISH
HERE AND THERE Online thriller series to Diputación approves
be shot in the Axarquía pedestrianisation grant
Supreme Court rules in euros.
The aim of Nerja town hall is to
Nerja expropriation case
complete a section of promenade that VÉLEZ-MÁLAGA VÉLEZ-MÁLAGA
currently ends at the cliffs on Torre- :: E. C. Mayor of Vélez-Málaga, An- :: A. P. Malaga’s provincial author-
NERJA cilla beach, connecting it with the tonio Moreno Ferrer, along with the ity, the Diputación, approved last
:: E. C. Andalucía’s supreme court Balcón, using the land in question. Colombian actor, director and pro- Friday an 836,000-euro grant for
has ruled that Nerja town hall will This is not the first beachside ducer, Mario Bolaños, announced the pedestrianisation of Vélez-
pay just over 2.1 million euros for compulsory purchase order the that the series ‘Torre de Narcos’ will Málaga town centre. The project
the expropriation of a 4,350- town hall has signed recently. An start filming in the area in Febru- includes Plaza de las Carmelitas
square-metre area of private land agreement was reached with the ary. The series is described as an “ac- and other central streets. Work is
near the Balcón de Europa and Tor- owner of a 1,307 square metre piece tion thriller” which will be avail- set to start after Easter Week and
recilla beach. The court rejected of land near Calahonda beach three able online. Each of the 12 episodes should be finished in time for the
an appeal lodged by the owner who weeks earlier. This purchase will will be 15 minutes long and will town’s feria, which takes place at
claimed more than 16 million cost the council 953,000 euros. show parts of the Axarquía. The series presentation. :: E. C. the end of September.
38 dogs rescued in Axarquía-wide Pilot unhurt as light aircraft
crashes into field of
operation against animal cruelty
avocados near Vélez airport
Seprona intervened in
The plane was trying to
three separate cases in way after reporting mechanical
return to the runway problems with the plane. He was
one day in Torrox and
gliding at around 300 metres
after the control tower
Benajarafe and the owners
when the aircraft came down.
had received reports of
are being investigated for Firefighters and an ambulance
mechanical problems were called to the scene where
ill-treating their pets
the man was attended to for back
pain.
:: SUR :: EUGENIO CABEZAS There has been a rise in acci-
AXARQUÍA. Officers from the VÉLEZ-MÁLAGA. The pilot of dents involving light aircraft us-
Guardia Civil’s nature protection a light aircraft escaped uninjured ing the Leoni Benabú airfield near
service Seprona in Vélez-Málaga when his plane crashed into a field Trapiche, just north of Vélez-
and Nerja carried out three sepa- of avocados not far from the Ax- Málaga in recent years, several of
rate raids relating to suspected ani- arquía airfield at the Benamocarra which have been fatal.
mal cruelty in Benajarafe and Tor- bridge on Thursday morning. The last accident occurred al-
rox on Wednesday. According to a spokesperson at most exactly a year ago, on 19
The first raid took place in Be- the airport’s control tower, the January 2017, when two people
najarafe after receiving a tip-off pilot, a 61-year-old Colombian na- were killed when their light air-
about a possible animal abuse situa- tional with the initials E. G. M, craft crashed into a field of
tion involving a German Shepherd. The German Shepherd had to be put down. :: GUARDIA CIVIL was trying to return to the run- avocados near a river.
The dog was found in a “lamenta-
ble condition”, said sources. It was having been mistreated by their
extremely underweight and weak owner.
Officers took the
which prevented it from being able
to move. The dog also had a num- German Shepherd to an A third investigation
ber of open and infected wounds. The third investigation also took
animal shelter where it
place in Torrox, where officers found
Terrible suffering was put down due to seven dogs of different breeds, five
The animal, which was eight-years- of which were being kept in small
the seriousness of its
old, was found in a place which enclosures whose floors were cov-
lacked basic hygiene and cleanli- condition ered in the animals’ own excrement.
ness and was covered in parasites, A further two malnourished dogs
including tics, flies and worms. It were found in the grounds of the
was lying in its own excrement farmhouse, one of which had had
and showed signs of “terrible suf- where it was put down due to the its leg partially amputated and the
fering” at the hands of its owner. seriousness of its condition. owners were unable to prove that
Police investigations revealed On the same day in Torrox, Se- the amputation had been carried
that the dog had been ill for around prona Nerja carried out an inves- out by a vet.
two weeks and had not been at- tigation at a farmhouse where 30 The owners of the dogs in all
tended to by a vet. dogs of different breeds were dis- three cases are being investigated
Officers later took the German covered living in unhygienic con- by police on suspicion of abandon-
Shepherd to an animal shelter, ditions. They all showed signs of ing the animals. The aircraft at the crash scene on Thursday morning. :: SUR