Threatened police during celebration

A Libyan man was yesterday conditionally discharged for a year after he admitted to threatening police when he was celebrating the end of exams with his fellow students.

Mabrouk Meftah Egliwan, 28, admitted to threatening five officers and damaging the uniform of a constable when he pulled him from the shirt.

Magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna heard how the incident took place in St Julians when a group of students were celebrating the end of exams in the early hours of Sunday morning.

A police car drove past the merry crowd and noticed that the students were going to leave a mess of bottles behind them. The officers told the students to clear up and to stop making noise.

That was when Mr Egliwan, who had had too much to drink, grabbed an officer by the shirt and tore it.

Magistrate Apap Bologna noted that Mr Egliwan had a clean criminal record and paid for the damage caused to the shirt.

Police Inspectors Martin Sammut and Carmelo Abdilla prosecuted.

Lawyer Leon Bencini appeared for Mr Egliwan.