Convicted Briton has prison term reduced by a year, gives notice of Constitutional case
Briton Tristan Haynes, who was sentenced to four years after being found guilty of road rage, has had his sentence reduced to three years by an appeals court.
30 July 2010, 12:00am
Karl Stagno-Navarra
Karl Stagno-Navarra
1 min read
Haynes, who is currently serving his sentence at Corradino prisons, was brought over to Malta by European Arrest Warrant (EAW) a year and a half ago, after absconding the island while on bail, and on recommendation by the British High Commission as he had admitted.
Tristan Haynes however had fought his case since his re-arrest and extradition to Malta from the UK, as he contested the version of events that led to his arraignment for the alleged grievious bodily harm inflicted on two men who were involved in a small traffic accident with his car on the Salini Coast Road.
Through his lawyer Joe Brincat, Tristan Haynes has however given notice that he is intending to instituting a Constitutional case against the Maltese government for the time he was kept under preventive arrest and the alleged misinterpretation given by the courts to the evidence in his favour.
In passing sentence, the Court noted that four years imprisonment is not the maximum that the First Court could have awarded. It is nevertheless within the parameters dictated by law and the Court used its discretion to afford the punishment which it considered justified under these circumstances.
As stated beforehand, the Court of Appeal will not challenge the discretion enjoyed by the First Court if it finds that the First Court was reasonable and legal in its conclusions.
The Court said however it feels that, considering the time factor and the fact that all parties made a full recovery and have got on with their lives, there should be a reconsideration of the punishment awarded.
