A couple was yesterday fined Lm500 between them after they pleaded guilty to assaulting and slightly injuring three policemen in Rabat on Tuesday evening.

Renald Barbara and Joanne Fenech, both 25 and both from Rabat, were charged with assaulting and slightly injuring Police Constables George Buhagiar, Mario Mercieca and Owen Bilocca in Gorg Borg Olivier Street in Rabat.

The couple was also charged with offending and threatening the police, assaulting public officials, resisting the police, disobeying police orders, breaching the peace and swearing in public.

They were also charged with damaging a car and driving without seatbelts as well as damaging a policeman’s uniform. Barbara alone was further charged with relapsing.

Police Inspector Nezren Grixti told the court, presided over by Magistrate Antonio Mizzi, that the damage to the police uniform amounted to Lm8 while the damage to the other car, belonging to Thomas Sammut, amounted to Lm160.

After hearing the couple plead guilty to all the charges brought against them, Magistrate Mizzi fined Fenech Lm200 and Barbara Lm300. He also ordered them to pay the damages immediately and gave them a maximum of three months to pay their fine. Both said they were unemployed.

Police Inspector Nezren Grixti prosecuted while Dr Joe Giglio and Dr Shazoo Ghaznavi appeared for the defendants.