Yorgen Fenech has denied taking advantage of high-profile people in his circle, as prosecutors began cross-examining him about his influence, friendships and messages with public officials.Fenech was questioned by prosecutor Godwin Cini after his defence lawyer concluded her direct examination, during which Fenech apologised to jurors for keeping them away from their families and said he trusted their verdict would bring justice to his family and others.Asked what he was doing on the day Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed, Fenech reportedly said he was at home sick and remembered someone from the office coming over with purchase orders.Cini then turned to Fenech’s relationships with prominent figures, asking whether he used their positions to take advantage of them.Fenech denied this, saying he had good relationships with many people and did not know why the prosecutor was suggesting he had exploited them.The prosecutor said people had lost their jobs and been charged in court because of Fenech’s messages to them.Fenech again rejected that characterisation, saying he would not describe it as happening “because of me”. He suggested Cini may have been referring to former Malta Gaming Authority CEO Heathcliff Farrugia, who was convicted over leaking secret regulatory information to Fenech.The prosecution also questioned Fenech about WhatsApp messages with former Planning Authority CEO Johann Buttigieg.Cini referred to a message in which Fenech asked Buttigieg to help with issues concerning a farm, with Fenech saying the property belonged to Melvin Theuma and that he had been trying to keep Theuma happy.“I did everything to keep him happy,” Fenech reportedly told the court.Asked about Theuma comparing himself to a mosquito and Fenech to a giant, Fenech said he disagreed with that description and did not like those kinds of labels.The prosecution also asked about Fenech’s tone with Buttigieg and other messages discussing business, Joseph Portelli and planning matters.At one point, the courtroom reportedly laughed when Cini read out a message containing the word “qalbi”. Fenech said he did not have a tendency to call people “qalbi” and that he had meant it “from my heart”.Fenech also said he had not gone back through his extracted messages before testifying, describing that period as “the worst time” of his life.Fenech denies charges of complicity in Caruana Galizia’s murder and involvement in a criminal organisation.•