The driver of National Security Minister Manuel Mallia, Paul Sheehan, was denied bail after pleading not guilty to attempted murder and eight other charges, a week after he shot at a car which clipped the ministerial car’s side mirror. He was taken to hosspital suffering from chest pains soon after his request for bail was turned down.

The shooting took place on the evening of Wednesday, 16 November, but initially, the police only arrested the driver of the car which had been shot at, a 30-year-old Briton by the name of Steve Morrison Smith.

In a statement issued through the Department of Information following the incident, the government claimed that a man had been arrested after a hit-and-run and that the minister’s driver – a police officer who was authorised to carry a firearm – fired warning shots as he gave chase.

But the statement, which was later dismissed by the government as simply based on the information available at the time, contrasted with the discovery that Mr Smith’s car had been shot at, and as public sentiment turned, so did the government’s position.

On the day after the incident, Mr Sheehan was first suspended from his security driving duties and subsequently from the police force. It took nearly 24 hours for Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to pronounce himself, and he expressed anger and disgust over what had happened. Mr Smith actually remained in police custody for over 36 hours, and was only released without charge on Friday.

Mr Sheehan was taken to Mater Dei Hospital on Monday following a commotion at his mother’s Gżira home which occurred when inquiring magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras paid a visit. He was released from hospital yesterday, when an arrest warrant was issued.

An arrest warrant against Mr Sheehan was only issued yesterday, but he was taken to Mater Dei Hospital after complaining of chest pains following a commotion at his mother’s Gżira home. The 40-year-old police officer was arrested this morning and arraigned in the afternoon.

Apart from attempted murder, Mr Sheehan is also accused of causing Mr Smith fear that violence would be used against him, causing wilful damage to his vehicle, possessing a firearm during the commission of a crime, using it in a public place without authorisation and committing a crime he was duty-bound to prevent.

After stating that his client would be filing a not guilty plea, defence counsel Edward Gatt asked to be allowed to question the prosecuting officers – Supt Alexandra Mamo and inspectors Saviour Baldacchino and Jesmond Micallef – before making a bail request, insisting that these questions would have an impact on this request. Dr Gatt is representing the accused after it had been Dr Arthur Azzopardi, from the Manuel Mallia and Associates Firm, who had been Mr Sheehan's lawyer when he was first questioned soon after the incident, as The Malta Independent reported earlier this week.

But the prosecution objected, and Dr Gatt later said that his questions included why his client had not been arrested until today, and why his mobile phone had not been seized by the police, as typically occurs in cases of alleged attempted murder. Ultimately, however, Magistrate Giovanni Grixti denied the request, stating that there was no legal procedure governing it.

Dr Gatt then requested bail, but Insp. Baldacchino said that the prosecution objected due to the fear of the tampering of evidence, since civilian witnesses – Mr Smith and an eyewitness – still needed to testify. But Dr Gatt insisted that this fear was non-existent, as the eyewitness had given a sworn statement to the inquiring magistrate, and insisted that the claim that the evidence might be tampered with was just an “excuse.”

He also pointed out that while the police trusted his client for an entire week, they were now asking the court not to do the same.

After a break, Magistrate Grixti said that Insp. Baldacchino’s explanation was not sufficient, and Supt Mamo subsequently took the witness stand.

Video (top) shows Mr Sheehan taken into the courts of law before the arraingment and (above) being taken into an ambulance after the court hearing. Videos by Paul Jones.

She revealed that after the incident, both Mr Sheehan and Mr Smith were taken to the Msida police station and that their rights were read out. She said that Mr Sheehan sought to consult the lawyer of his choice, while Mr Smith appeared to be not in a position to understand.

Supt Mamo said that Mr Sheehan gave a statement to the police in the following day, and investigations continued.

However, she said that after investigations continued, it was clear that certain details – including details concerning the firearm – still needed to be clarified, and that consequently, an arrest warrant was sought and obtained.

Dr Gatt, however, said that this only confirmed his original claim that there were no grounds to keep his client detained.

Insp. Baldacchino then clarified that the latest developments included new evidence in the form of a recording which appeared to disprove Mr Sheehan’s version of events, and that as a result, the prosecution felt that an attempted murder charge was justified. The recording, Insp. Micallef later explained, was of a phone call Mr Sheehan made to 112 in which he asked for assistance.

But Dr Gatt noted that this evidence similarly could not be tampered with.

Ultimately, however, Magistrate Grixti denied bail at this stage, citing the seriousness of the case and the fact that civilian witnesses still needed to testify.