A taxi driver has been cleared of violently and indecently assaulting a tourist after a magistrate ruled the woman's version was not credible and that she had been drunk and probably provocative.

Anthony Rizzo, 58, was cleared of violently and indecently assaulting a woman in Sliema on August 29, 1998, at about 1.30 a.m.

Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani Grima heard how the woman and her boyfriend got into Rizzo's taxi and asked him to take them somewhere where they could buy a hamburger.

Rizzo took them to Golden Seven and the man got out of the taxi and went to buy the food while his girlfriend stayed in the taxi.

The magistrate heard the woman say the taxi driver asked her questions about her relationship and complemented her on her legs which were bare since she was wearing a short skirt.

But soon after, she said, he turned round and touched her legs. She started crying and when her boyfriend went back to the taxi she told him what had happened and he ran after Rizzo.

They then went to the Sliema police station to file a report.

But PS Audrey Cassar said the woman had stumbled into the police station because she was drunk.

Rizzo denied touching her. He said he ran away from the man to avoid trouble, particularly since he had recently had an unpleasant experience with some Arab men who had assaulted him.

Magistrate Padovani Grima ruled that she did not see the woman as a credible witness and found it hard to believe how all this could have happened when her boyfriend was a few metres away.

Besides, the magistrate ruled, it had been established that the woman had drunk a lot and it was probable that she had been provocative.

Police Inspector Frans Micallef prosecuted.

Dr Joseph Giglio and Dr José Herrera appeared for Rizzo.

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