The police have undertaken two separate inquiries into an incident in which a motorist claims his car was stopped and assaulted by three irregular migrants on a deserted road in Hal Far earlier this month.
The motorist has stated he was on his way to Birzebbuga down the Hal Far Road on Saturday 4 August at about 9pm when three migrants suddenly appeared in the middle of the road ahead, leaving the motorist no alternative but to stop in the middle of the road.
The motorist alleges he asked the trio to move but as he locked the doors and flashed his lights, two of the migrants stepped aside while the third grasped the vehicle’s bull bar, stood there for a while, then moved to the side of the car and began punching the bonnet.
The police are investigating the incident itself, while an internal investigation into the way in which the police had dealt with the incident when it had been reported is also underway.
As to the incident itself, the District Police, with the assistance of the Forensic Division, are examining the motorist’s vehicle in order to confirm the report as well as to recover evidence that may lead who perpetrator’s identity.
The internal investigation is also underway into disparaging comments purportedly made by a forensic officer to the motorist, who is alleged to have said, “try to avoid Birzebbuga and Marsa as after sunset they no longer belong to us”, as well as other comments made by officers at the Birzebbuga precinct.
The police report a number of officers as well as the motorist himself were brought in for questioning. The investigation’s preliminary results concluded that at no point had the motorist been ridiculed or answered in a sarcastic manner by the officers manning the Birzebbuga police station. The fact, the police said in a statement, had also been confirmed by the alleged victim.
Moreover, the police are also waiting to accompany the alleged victim to the Hal Far detention centre with a view to identifying the alleged perpetrators. Replying to the alleged victim’s complaints over the way in which the authorities are handling the case, the police added they are doing their utmost to find those responsible.
With reference to the motorist’s complaints against the police officer’s attitude toward his complaint, the Corps added that if the victim dad anything else that was his own subjective opinion.
As for the statement by a forensic sergeant that “after sunset Birzebbuga and Marsa no longer belong to us”, the police concluded that the officer in question had merely been expressing his personal opinion, which was in no way reflective of the opinion of the Corps as a whole.
The police, however, have not ruled out the possibility of action being taken against the officers involved in the incident should it result they have, in one way or another, not fulfilled their official duties.