A man has been cleared of three traffic-related charges after a police officer recorded his ID card number incorrectly, casting doubt on whether he was behind the wheel.
Burton Azzopardi had been charged with driving without a licence, driving without third-party insurance and using a vehicle without its owner's consent following a police road check in Żabbar on 16 October 2021.
Magistrate Victor G. Axiak ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish beyond reasonable doubt that Azzopardi was driving the Toyota stopped by police that evening.
One digit, reasonable doubt
The case hinged on an affidavit submitted by Police Sergeant Stefanie Zammit, who identified the driver as Burton Azzopardi but recorded an identification number that differed from the accused's by one digit. Although the name matched, the court refused to assume that the discrepancy was simply a clerical error.
Crucially, prosecutors had neither summoned the officer to clarify the mistake in person nor called any of the three other officers identified in the police incident report.
The court also noted that more than 30 vehicles had been stopped during the same operation, making reliable identification particularly important.
While Transport Malta records confirmed that Azzopardi did not hold a driving licence at the time, this did not prove he had been driving the vehicle that night.
The court also identified lack of evidence supporting the charges of driving without insurance and using a vehicle without permission.
According to the affidavit, the driver had admitted that he was using the vehicle without its owner's consent. However, the affidavit made no mention of whether the driver had been informed of his right to remain silent or consult a lawyer before making the statement. The court consequently refused to give the alleged admission evidential weight.
Meanwhile, a representative of No Deposit Cars Limited, summoned to testify in connection with the allegation that the vehicle was driven without its owner's consent, exercised his right against self-incrimination. With no other evidence establishing the lack of permission, the court found that the charge could not be proven.
Prosecutors had also failed to produce evidence showing that the Toyota was uninsured on the date of the alleged offences.
Magistrate Axiak concluded that the uncertainty surrounding the driver's identity was sufficient to undermine all three charges. The insurance and unauthorised-use charges also failed independently because of the lack of supporting evidence.
Azzopardi was consequently cleared of all charges.
Defence lawyer Adreana Zammit represented Azzopardi. Magistrate Victor G. Axiak presided over the case.