A young man was jailed for four months after being found guilty of slightly injuring three police officers, threatening them and damaging their uniforms, in October this year.
Akaif Naji Wrd, 18, had been accused of slightly injuring three police officers at around 10.15pm in Sliema on 15 October 2005. He had also been charged with trying to seriously injure the officers involved and assaulting them. In addition, Wrd was accused of causing less than Lm10 worth of damage to two of the officers’ uniforms.
Prosecuting inspector Daniel Zammit told the court that he received information that two Libyan men were bothering people at the Independence Gardens in Sliema. He sent his officers over to monitor the situation. He explained that his officers later told him the man had tried to escape and had resisted arrest.
The court heard how at first, the man told the police his name was Reuben Budajer and that he was Palestinian. When he took the stand, the accused alleged the police had beaten him up and insulted his mother.
When reviewing the evidence, presiding magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera explained that judgement rested on the credibility of the witnesses. She said the accused seemed inconsistent and therefore not credible.
“The court has no reason not to believe the police officers in question since the injuries they sustained had been examined by a doctor,” the magistrate said. She noted that the only independent witness had said he had never seen the officers hitting the accused but had seen Wrd being violent towards them.
The court went on to point out that any force the officers had used in this incident was legitimate since the man was resisting arrest. “The police’s actions were not excessive. They did what they had to control the situation,” the magistrate said.
Magistrate Scerri Herrera acquitted Wrd of trying to seriously injuring the officers, but convicted him for injuring them slightly, threatening them and damaging their uniforms. He was given a four-month jail term.
Inspector Daniel Zammit prosecuted.