Tuesday, 1st July 2008

Bus driver questioned by police over alleged beating of passenger

Matthew Xuereb

A bus driver who allegedly beat up a tourist last Wednesday in Sliema was yesterday evening called in for questioning after the police acted on a report of the incident published in The Times.

Police sources confirmed that the bus driver had been called to the police headquarters in Floriana after they spoke to a number of people who saw the beating.

The Malta Transport Authority is conducting its own investigation into the matter.

In a letter to this newspaper published yesterday, Alfred Zahra de Domenico recounted how the incident occurred just after 11 p.m. when a bus stopped suddenly at Balluta, St Julians. The driver got out of his seat and "repeatedly savagely assaulted one of the passengers", who was seated on the driver's left hand side.

The young man was "subjected to a prolonged shower of heavy blows" from the driver. Eventually he was thrown off the bus with his shirt torn. But the story did not end there. When the foreigner shouted insults at his aggressor, the driver assaulted him on the pavement, according to the eyewitness.

Mr Zahra de Domenico called the police on 119. But rather than alerting the mobile squad so the police could act immediately, the officer on duty asked the caller whether he had filed a police report at a nearby police station, the witness claimed.

Contacted by The Times yesterday, police sources confirmed that the bus driver had been tracked down and that he had been taken in for questioning.

The sources, however, could not confirm whether the police were investigating just the aggression against the passenger and also the reaction of the police officer when the eyewitness reported the incident.

The young man had not filed a police report and neither did he report the incident to the Malta Transport Authority which is, however, conducting its own investigations, sources added.

mxuereb@timesofmalta.com

Comments

Jesmond Bartolo (on 3/7/08)

This is typical behaviour and reation by thepolice at stations across the island. Everytime you try to report something, they try to shrug it off for one reason or the other... mainly to avoid the paperwork or actually do something useful like protect and serve the public.

Joe Vella (on 3/7/08)

@ Philip Grech

No matter if the driver was provoked or not. If the individual misbehaved the driver should have stopped the bus and called the police to have him removed. That is the appropriate action and not beat up on someone, Period.

Joe Vella (on 3/7/08)

@ R. Gauci

I am not being militant. Just pointing the obvious. Have you forgot the case of only a month ago regarding the driver that refused to for for the exhaust test after being reported over a 100 times. What did his association do......threatened the Government that it will bring the country to a halt if ADT insisted.

Kenneth Briffa (on 3/7/08)

Besides the whole point of the incident but isn't 112 the emergency number for police, fire and ambulance? Police squad vehicles also visibly display the number on their cars. I believe this is standardised across all EU countries.

Denise Vella (on 3/7/08)

Beatings , at least some, make it into the headlines if reported to the press, but what if they don't, how does ADT deal with violent, dangerous drivers? There are other misdemeanours which are not considered big enough to make it to the papers, but many a passenger has stories to tell of sheer rudeness, foul language etc. Just try pressing that hard-to-locate buzzer more than once and you will be at the receiving end of a barrage of obscenities. Very often the passenger is too confused if not subdued after his treatment at the hands of the driver to do anything about it once he gets off the bus. May I suggest that every bus should have a prominent CUSTOMER CARE NOTICE on display with the bus number and a TELEPHONE NUMBER where a complaint can be immediately lodged. This in itself could be quite a deterrent to bad behaviour.

A. Azzopardi (on 3/7/08)

BRAND MALTA
Yeah sure!

Claire Farrugia (on 3/7/08)

I also experienced a bus driver beating someone but had not reported it, it was 9 years ago. At the time I had no mobile or anything and was too young to think about taking the number of the driver. it is true that bus drivers have very bad working conditions, but someone who does something like that abroad, would not be able to practice as a driver EVER AGAIN; this should become the case in Malta, so that the drivers think twice before venting their aggression on some poor soul

Philip Grech (on 3/7/08)

Without trying to condone violence, has anyboby asked why the alleged victim did not make a report. We read all kinds of articles and letters about the arrogance of tourists especially students and I think that most of them are justified, but when it comes to an incident involving a tourist and a bus driver, we are ready to lynch the bus driver without a hearing

Ronnie Gauci (on 3/7/08)

Mr Vella, perhaps you know for which party the driver inquestion voted in the last elections? So please stop being militant yourself.

Joe Vella (on 2/7/08)

@ R. Gauci

One cannot deny the obvious. The other day there were reports of that the Governments was in the process of opening up discussion on public transit in Malta; What was the response of the organisations that represents the drivers and owners. Don't you dare, We will hold you to ransom and strike and in doing so will paralyze Malta.

I believe those in the public transport industry should learn something from the dockyards saga. I think there is a Minister in place that will not hesitate to take the bull by the head this time around. I bet that he will have public opinion behind him as well to boost about it.

Gerard Mangion (on 2/7/08)

If this allegation that the bus Driver is true,
Why it's Always the Goverment and the
Police to take the Blame ? everyone know that there are educated bus drivers,
and some others NOT ! , I agree but the majority of them are very well educated and Helpfull too.
I won't blame no one for this allegation, Not that I agrre with violence no not at all.

There must be more effort from the Transport Authority, to see that the drivers, are All mature
well, and can handle any bad situation in a Civilised Way.

Mark Galea (on 2/7/08)

@ R.Gauci. I always think that one has to pull up his act and expect to be praised and appreciated afterwards. I'm not saying all bus drivers are in the same category, but whether it's in politics, in the church or whatever, it's always the bad guys who make the news. All the ones who give an honest service go unnoticed.

R.Gauci (on 2/7/08)

@ Joe Vella

Why politize this issue by saying tough guy from the 70's and early 80's when you don't even

know details about the driver? This matter is the fault of both goverments and authorities!

If the authorities want to grab the bull by the horn they should introduce European Practices

and Standards. I myself work as a bus driver in another country and never had any kind of

problems cause here you are respected and well paid and work practices are good ! Go and

ask how much a bus driver or any other driver works in Malta minimum 12 hrs a day!

I am not justifying what he allegly did becuase you never have to beat someone but there's a

need of a huge reform as you well said !

We are EU country now and the Goverment is responsable that we have same standards

in every sector nothing more or less!!

Joe Vella (on 2/7/08)

Unfortunately, the bus drivers are another product of the militism that has been carried over from the 70s and early 80s. It is about time the Government grabs the bull by the horn as to speak and put public transport on the forefront of reform.

A.Bonanno (on 2/7/08)

We cannot tolerate that some one in direct contact with tourists act like this bus driver. It is in vain that the government spends millions in advertising our islands and then we have bus drivers that act in this manner. Who is accountanable for the bad image of such action? Can we still live in a country that everything is tollerated and no one is accountable for such acts?

maria barbara (on 1/7/08)

This driver was aggressive, rude, you name it. This policeman was laid back. BUT. Do if you think that this kind of thing happens only in Malta, you are still thinking 'narrow'? do we say in Maltese? Most of the police are alert and helpful, otehrs aren't. I worked with them, but i was not a policewoman. They were alert when i needed them Yet, true some others were not. Bus drivers. For the most part of my life, i used the buses. Most of them were polite. Some true, were rude. I have been to different parts of the world. The story is the same everywhere. So stop talking as if Malta is some kind of Island where only these things happen. Stop thinking of Malta as a baddy. We are part of the World, we are people life the rest, we have our good and we have our bad. No more no less. Thank you all policeman and bus drivers who do there work well.

John Azzopardi (on 1/7/08)

The archaic practice dating back when messages were conveyed by carrier pigeons, has to stop. Citizens should be able to report an incident at any police station or over the phone in case of emergency. It is the common practice for police officers to direct you to lodge a report at the police station where the incident occurred. What is wrong with any police officer taking a report at any police station and then transmitting it to a central point? We are living in the age of technology which makes communication efficient and effective. Police working practices need to keep pace with times.

Andrew Gatt (on 1/7/08)

@ A. Grech........dunno about solving the problems by hiring more cops! The Police Force has not exactly been in the news for the right reasons lately. Educating some of our finest would be a better idea........the arrogance and hair-trigger tempers of some policemen has to be seen to be believed.

Jimmy John M Vella (on 1/7/08)

Bus Drivers. Enough Said.

They'll yell at a tourist just cause he/she does not respond to 'ersaq lura' or 'mhux bizzejjed'... And then we blame the lack of tourist in-bound on hoteliers and their employees...

A Grech (on 1/7/08)

Violence, violence, violence. It puts Malta back hundreds of years.

Violence must not be tolerated. It is also time that they hire more Police officers to deal with the various problems arising around our country.

Liam Kelly (on 1/7/08)

What an effective police force... we have to send letters to the Times of Malta for them to get off their backsides.

Guaranteed if Alfred hadn't sent that letter yesterday they would have just swept the matter under the carpet with countless other matters.

The reason why we have lazy, rude and aggressive bus drivers is because they KNOW they will get away with it.

Phil Gatt (on 1/7/08)

So much for Malta catching up with the rest of the world, oh wait, World Wrestling Entertainment perhaps?

Lucy Pace gouder (on 1/7/08)

Are we, as people, becoming more violent? It seems that beating up someone is becoming the order of the day for many. What are we trying to prove?

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Article © Allied Newspapers Ltd., printed on Thursday, December 4, 2008. This article is for personal use only, and should not be distributed.

Bus driver questioned by police over alleged beating of passenger

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