Justice Minister Owen Bonnici will not be resigning over the traffic accident he was involved in, which resulted in the injury of another driver and damage to two vehicles, and for which he has been summoned to face proceedings in a court traffic sitting.

Dr Bonnici came to a different decision than the one taken by former parliamentary secretary Chris Said, who had resigned when charged with perjury a few years back.

Asked by The Malta Independent yesterday whether he would resign, Dr Bonnici said: “No, if I had committed an act that would erode public trust in me, I would have done that without any qualms. But being involved in an unfortunate car accident, with my own personal car, with the facts speaking for themselves, I don’t think this merits a resignation on my part”.

The minister, who if found guilty can be jailed for up to six months or fined up to €2,329.37, added that “this is something I have reflected a lot upon... If it had been an issue of a drunk driving, then it would be another matter. In fact when someone alleged that I was drunk driving, I immediately initiated libel proceedings and he issued an apology. I believe it all depends on whether this act erodes public trust in the office I occupy and I don’t think that having a normal traffic accident is something that does this”.

The Minister was also asked whether the Prime Minister had asked for his resignation. “We discussed the issue along the way, but no there has been no such request. He was very supportive because having a car accident is traumatising, but thankfully the person injured spent a little time in hospital, fully recovered and it all turned out well. I have to thank the Prime Minister for the support he has given me in my time of need”.

Last Friday, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici was summoned to attend a traffic sitting which will take place before Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit on 3 October.

The summons refers to the traffic accident the minister was involved in on 3 April when driving his private car near the Santa Venera tunnels.

The summons says that Dr Bonnici involuntarily caused injuries to another person and damages to two cars.

A parallel can be drawn with another incident involving a Cabinet member - back in 2010, Chris Said, who was a Parliamentary Secretary at the time, had resigned from government after the Court of Appeals decided that he should face proceedings for perjury.

Dr Said’s resignation had been accepted by then Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi but the post had not been filled. Dr Said returned to his post after he was cleared by the courts.