A VRT tester has had his licence suspended for 10 years and was fined €500 after being found guilty of awarding a VRT certificate to a car that should have failed.

Michael Anthony Cahill, 56, from Zurrieq was arraigned by police Inspector Sergio Pisani, accused of having accepted a bribe and making a false declaration in a case dating back to January 2017.

Magistrate Rachel Montebello noted that from the evidence it emerged that on the day in question, Cahill had issued a certificate indicating that a particular vehicle had passed the VRT inspection when, in fact, he had not tested it on that date.

The magistrate remarked that even if the vehicle had been tested, it was in such a bad condition that it should have failed. The car had, in fact, failed in a subsequent VRT held days later by the authorities.

For this reason, the court found Cahill guilty, fining him €500 and disqualifying him from running further tests for a period of ten years.