Stephen Smith, the man who was chased and shot at by Manuel Mallia’s police driver, was six times over the legal limit, according to a court expert.

Court expert Mario Scerri told Magistrate Aaron Bugeja that a breathalyzer test had been carried out on Mr Smith at 1.55am – some five hours after the shooting on 19 November 2014. The test result was 109 per 100mg, while the legal limit is 36 per 100mg.

Dr Scerri explained that, assuming that Mr Smith had a normal metabolism rate, the alcohol content in his blood would have decreased by half in five hours. This meant that, at the time of the incident, his blood alcohol rate would have been above the 200 mark. “He was very drunk,” Dr Scerri said.

The court expert was giving evidence in the compilation of evidence against Police Constable Paul Sheehan, 40, who is pleading not guilty to Mr Smith’s attempted murder last November 19. Mr Sheehan was the driver of former Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia, who was sacked over the way he handled the incident.

Mr Smith faced separate proceedings and was fined €2,000 for driving carelessly and under the influence in July. He was, however, cleared of many of the charges brought against him. He was also disqualified from holding a driving licence for nine months.