Paralysed by car accident, Court to hear witness at home

Magistrate Carol Peralta ruled that he will hear the evidence of Francis Farrugia by his bedside, after the court was told that the witness has suffered almost total paralysis after a car crash in 2011.

Farrugia - who also faces separate charges for his responsibility in the accident which happened in Paola last year - will be heard by a court at his home, where he is bound to remain bed-ridden for the rest of his life.

He was driving his Subaru car with his wife Bernice Farrugia, when a Ssang Yong SUV driven by 31 year-old Joseph Zammit ploughed into him in Sannat Road, Paola on April 5, 2011.

According to lawyer Yana Stafrace, who is appearing for the Farrugia's, said that her client cannot come to court given his 95% disability.

"My client is paralysed from the neck down, and cannot in any way make it to Court and spend three hours here," Stafrace said, adding that besides his paralysis, Farrugia is suffering from bedsores making any unnecessary movements excruciating.

She said that the courts don't offer any special vehicle service for people in the condition as her client's , and even if this was the case, it would still be a major problem to bring her client to court given his condition.

A scruffy-looking Joseph Zammit appeared in the dock without a lawyer, prompting Magistrate Peralta to warn him that the charges brought against him were very serious.

"Don't tell me that you never had the time to consult with your lawyer over such a serious matter, showing me that you are taking such matters lightly, when you have permanently disabled a man," Peralta said.

While informing the court that he did not have the resources to pay his lawyer after some months without a job, Zammit said that he was to approach his lawyer again, now that he found new employment.