Omar Osman Omar, 26, from Somalia, was found guilty of interfering while police were carrying out their duties in St Julian’s on 9 May 2006. He was also found guilty of relapsing in view of previous convictions.

However, he was cleared of assaulting and slightly injuring two police officers, resisting arrest, damaging the officers’ uniforms, breaching the peace and disobeying police orders.

It turned out that the issue involved another man who the accused was arguing with on a bus. The police intervened and tried to get the two men off the bus. Omar came down of his own free will, but the other passenger caused a ruckus. Omar tried to help get the man off the bus, but once he did so, he started to push the police officers who were trying to arrest the other man.

The court, presided over by magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, took note that the accused was originally trying to help the police, but then decided that he would push them about and interfere in their duties. The court said that the accused had already been found guilty of aggressive crimes and could not tolerate his behaviour.

The court also pointed out that crimes involving aggression or impeding law enforcement officers from doing carrying out their duties should be punishable by jail. The court therefore jailed the accused for one month.