Judge reduces jail term

A man, who had been jailed for two years for drug possession and trying to seriously injure a police officer, had his term reduced to one year and three months when an appeal court cleared him of trying to injure the officer.

Victor Buttigieg was originally jailed for two years when the Magistrates' Court found him guilty of heroin possession, trying to seriously injure a police constable when he drove a car in his direction, disobeying the police and driving dangerously on October 25, 2000.

Mr Buttigieg appealed on several grounds. He claimed that the first court's judgment was null and void as the court had incorrectly quoted the articles of law under which he was convicted.

Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono upheld this ground of appeal and ruled that it was with a sense of frustration that he annulled a judgment due to lack of formality brought about by the wrong articles of the law being quoted or not quoted at all.

After ruling that the judgment was null the judge went on to decide the case on its merits. He heard that Mr Buttigieg had reversed onto the constable, who was standing by the car, when the police apprehended him using drugs.

The judge noted that Mr Buttigieg had denied trying to injure the constable and any doubts as to his intentions had to go in his favour according to law. He stressed that the court did not tolerate that a police officer was endangered while doing his duties and banned Mr Buttigieg from driving for three years.