Appeals Court convicts previously acquitted motorist

Clayton Galea, 29 was fined €2,329 and had his driving licence suspended for two years after a Court of Appeal reversed his previous acquittal following an appeal by the Attorney General.

In the early hours of 24 August 2008, while driving along Triq il-Belt Valletta in Rabat, Galea hit a motorcyclist, but the driver failed to stop at the scene.

He was later apprehended by the police and faced seven charges, including dangerous and negligent driving, driving under the influence of alcohol, and grievously injuring Martin Fenech. Due to the incident Fenech suffers from a 7% disability.

On 21 July 2013 a Court of Magistrates acquitted Galea.

The Court had explained there was no alternative but to acquit the accused as the only evidence exhibited in court was not objective.

"While the court had no doubt it was the accused, whose negligence, dangerous driving and arrogance led to Fenech's disability, no expert evidence was heard. The facts that the car's engine was still warm, the driver stank of alcohol and broken car parts collected from the scene of crime were compatible with Galea's car does not prove much. For obvious reasons the police cannot act as experts in their own investigation and should have at least called for court experts to run a mechanical check on the vehicle and confirm the damages derived from the incident in Rabat," the Court had said.

The Attorney General appealed the judgement, arguing the first court had misjudged and misinterpreted the evidence.

The appellant argued the police had simply testified about what they had found on the crime scene, the damages seen on the car and the vehicle's colour. "There is no need for an expert's views to confirm such details", the appeal read.

Officers who arrived on site moments after the incident found metallic green fibre articles, a rear bumper and eyewitnesses held the car drove off towards Rabat.

When the police found Galea's vehicle, it lacked a rear bumper, had a dented front bumper and rear mudguard. The accused had a strong smell of alcohol and a breathalyser test was done.

Furthermore, Galea himself told investigators he was returning from Paceville and on the way he heard a noise and felt the car bump as it he hit something. Not realising what he hit, he continued driving. The breathalyser test revealed the driver was almost three times over the permitted amount. The parts collected from the incident scene matched the vehicle's damage.

Mr Justice Michael Malli concluded there is enough evidence for the  Court of Appeal to conclude the vehicle involved in the accident was the one driven by Galea. Judge Mallia, found the accused guilty of all charges and fined Galea €2,329.  The court also suspended his driving licence for two years.