Chief Justice triples fine in assault case

A Zebbug man, who had been fined Lm1,000 for assaulting a Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) enforcement officer, had his punishment increased on appeal.

The Magistrates' Court had found Carmel Dimech guilty of threatening, assaulting and slightly injuring Mepa officer Ronnie Vella in Zebbug on August 30, 2003.

The court heard that Mr Vella and his colleagues had visited a Zebbug construction site to issue a stop and enforcement notice because illegal works were in progress. They met Mr Dimech and when the Mepa enforcement officers told Mr Dimech to stop construction, he refused to follow instructions. So the officers left the site and sought the assistance of the police. When the Mepa officers returned on site, accompanied by the police, Mr Dimech started hurling insults at them and even punched Mr Vella in the face.

As Mr Vella walked away from the area, Mr Dimech hurled a stone at him but did not hit him.

The Magistrates' Court had fined him Lm1,000 but the Attorney General appealed, noting that the court had handed down a punishment below the minimum prescribed by law. Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano, sitting in the Court of Criminal Appeal, upheld the appeal and noted that the magistrate had gone below the minimum without valid reasons.

The appeal court altered the judgment and gave Mr Dimech a six-month jail term suspended for four years and fined him Lm3,000.