Yes for bail, but no going home for hit-and-run driver

A Magistrates Court, threw out Ciantar’s request to change the bail conditions he was subjected to, one of which was for him to undergo therapy for drug and drink abuse at Mount Carmel Hospital.

Max Ciantar, 20 of Marsa stands charged with grieviously injuring twin sisters, aged 11 in a dramatic hit-and-run accident in Attard last April.

After three weeks in prison under preventative custody, Ciantar was granted bail against a deposit of €3,000 and a personal guarantee of €20,000 but the Courts ordered that he had to stay at Mt Carmel Hospital.

While the Court of Criminal Appeal reduced the personal guarantee to €10,000, Ciantar’s lawyer argued that once his client was paying his deposit, he should be granted proper bail, rather than be ordered to stay at Mt Carmel Hospital.

But Magistrate Doreen Clarke who is hearing the case, threw out the request, insisting that Max Ciantar had a drug problem which he needed to be treated for.

Meanwhile, the court was informed that one of the girls is still not in a condition to testify, after weeks in intensive care.