Answering nature's call costs drunk man €4,050

A young tourist has been slapped with a €4,050 fine and a suspended sentence for resisting police who stopped him while urinating in public.

Senior Inspector Nikolai Sant told magistrate Claire Louise Stafrace how Stuart James Thomas Mcintyre, 28, from Chester, had assaulted two officers in Swieqi when they interrupted him while he was answering nature’s call this morning.

Mcintyre was charged with assaulting police,  reviling or threatening an officer in the course of his duties, slightly injuring officers, breaching the peace, disobeying police orders, being drunk in public, refusing to give police his particulars and urinating in public.

The accused said he had been drinking with friends and got tipsy, which had led him to miscalculate the words he had said to the police.

Lawyer Josette Sultana, legal aid to the accused, described the incident as an unfortunate chain of events but the magistrate interrupted her. “It’s not unfortunate. If you bring things upon yourself it’s not unfortunate its deliberate. If you’re not capable of handling the amount of alcohol in your body without doing stupid things it’s not a mistake.”

 The accused, who was arrested on his first night in Malta, expressed remorse, telling the court that “my own foolish actions” meant that he now could not see the country. “It’s not a great holiday so far but that’s my fault.”

He pleaded guilty and was handed a six month sentence suspended for 12 together with a €4,055 fine - €50 for urinating in public and €4,000 which is the minimum for resisting arrest.