News
Murder suspect
A Vélez-Málaga court has ordered the
boyfriend of a missing girl to be held in
custody without bail. Dana Leonte
disappeared on June 12 and human
remains found around Arenas, where the
couple lived, are believed to be hers.
Sergio Ruiz has maintained his innocence
claiming that she had returned to her
home country of Romania.
Pool death
A Swedish woman of about 70 has been
found dead in a swimming pool in
Alcaucín. Her husband raised the alarm
when he discovered the tragedy at their
home in the Venta Baja area, and his wife’s
body was taken to Málaga for post-
mortem. The couple had lived in the
district for two years, after moving from
their previous home in Los Romanes.
Nerja immigrants
Nine people of African origin were
detained in Nerja after they arrived in a
small boat on the town’s Playa Burriana at
the end of September. The Guardia Civil
were alerted by calls from local people
advising of their landing. None was
reported to require medical attention and
the group was taken to the Guardia Civil
base in Torre del Mar which handles
immigration matters.
Coach charged
The Málaga prosecutor has levelled further
charges at a former football coach accused
of sexual offences, including indecent
behaviour and abuse, against minors. With
the accused now alleged to have
committed exhibitionism and sexual
provocation and harassment, the
prosecutor has called for a custodial
sentence totalling over 100 years. Around
25 minors between 11 and 17 years are
reported to have been abused by the 45-
year-old suspect who has been held on
remand since December 2016.
New hospital
Construction of a new hospital in the city
of Málaga will begin in 2021, according to
health delegate Carlos Bautista. He said the
project is presently handling
administrative issues to meet required
legal deadlines. The new hospital,
immediately next to the Hospital Civil and
near the Hospital Materno Infantil, will
have 840 beds and 46 operating theatres.
Corruption charge
A 46-year-old man detained in Málaga has
been charged with corrupting minors.
National Police say he posed as a 17-year-
old boy on social media to contact minors
between 11 and 13 years. He allegedly then
asked them to send him photographs of a
sexual nature.
Nerja pool repairs to
be contracted
Nerja Town Hall last month invited
tenders to carry out repairs at the
municipal heated swimming pool. The
facility at the Ciudad Deportiva
Enrique López Cuenca opened in May
2007 but was closed in April 2018 for
“security reasons,” according to the
Town Hall administration at that time.
The socialist-led tripartite coalition
said then that the problem was the roof
which leaks when it rains causing
hazardous conditions for users. The
present Partido Popular administration
said in September that repairs would
now to go ahead.
Town planning councillor Nieves
Atencio said that one of the Partido
Popular’s priorities when it came to
office after the local elections in May
was to re-open the swimming pool.
She added, “We do not understand
how it has been closed for a year and a
half because of a lack of interest and
neglect by the previous
administration.”
The budget set for the repairs and
approved by councillors is €225,715,
with an estimated period of four
months for the work to be carried out.
The closing date for bids was October
22, with scrutiny of the applications
expected to begin the next day with a
view to contracting the project as
quickly as possible.
Water plant goes ahead
Work on Nerja’s water purification
plant got under way again towards the
end of last month. The Ministry of
Ecological Transition in Madrid has
confirmed that it will take eight
months to complete the construction
stage, with a six-month test phase now
likely to start in July 2020.
The project has been frozen for the
last two years following the
bankruptcy of one of companies in the
consortium which won the tender to
build the system. The accumulated
delay in the plant’s completion is also
partially a result of the original plan
being amended to include additional
collection pipes for waste water
around the municipality.
Central government had already set
aside €23.24 million to fund Nerja’s
treatment plant, and this extra work
has increased the budget by around €2
million.
The plant itself is situated on the N-
340 road between Nerja and Maro, and
is reported to be over 90 per cent
complete. Waste water will be piped
from collection points to a pumping
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station already in place at Playa
Burriana, from where it will be sent up
to the main plant.
Last month, Town Hall
representatives attended a meeting
with Ministry officials and
representatives of Lantania, the
company contracted to complete the
project. This confirmed the four areas
of the municipality where work is
about to be carried out: calle Mérida
near the Hotel Perla Marina, the N340
between Capistrano Village and the
purification plant, the eastern end of
Paseo Burriana, and calle Frigiliana
near the entrance to the Los Huertos
parking area.
Granada murder
A young man who entered the house of
an 88-year-old woman with intent to
steal has been found guilty of murder.
A Granada court last month sentenced
the 22-year-old Moroccan national to
29 years and five months in jail for the
offence which took place in March
2018. The defendant claimed he had
taken 60 pills of a strong medication
three hours earlier and had attacked
the woman as she tried to call for help.