A 61-year-old hawker today was fined €1,164 for resisting police officers, threatening and insulting them on two separate occasions – on 22 July and 31 May, 2012.

Some of the charges issued are in relation to a series of thefts of artichokes from various fields during 2012.

The court emphasised that the police need to be protected when going about their duties and that nobody is excused – whatever the reason – for threatening or injuring a policeman.

On the other hand, the court noted the “excessive eagerness” shown by the police when it issued a string of charges – a total 16 - against the accused.

“Some of the charges are cut and paste of other charges which are unrelated to this particular case,” the court said, while also pointing out that the prosecution team failed to turn up for a number of sittings.

“This case should definitely not be referred to as an example of how the prosecution should handle a case and charges issued.

“In this case the police should have acted in a more prudent and amicable manner and should have never left the case to escalate in this way,” the court said.

Magistrate Joe Mifsud presided over the case while Police Inspector Jason Franvis Sultana prosecuted. Lawyer Edward Gatt defended the accused.