Bus owner accused of driving dangerously, threatening police

A bus driver was charged with driving dangerously and negligently while his driving licence was suspended. Joseph Zahra, 57, of Ħal Far, pleaded not guilty to driving two buses in Birżebbuġa on Tuesday evening without a regular driving licence. He also...

A bus driver was charged with driving dangerously and negligently while his driving licence was suspended.

Joseph Zahra, 57, of Ħal Far, pleaded not guilty to driving two buses in Birżebbuġa on Tuesday evening without a regular driving licence.

He also pleaded not guilty to threatening a police superintendent and a constable at the Żejtun police station at about 12.15 a.m. and breaching the peace using vulgar language.

Police Inspector Priscilla Caruana, prosecuting, said Mr Zahra was seen driving in Birżebbuġa.

But Mr Zahra told Magistrate Anthony Vella he was injured by police officers when they tried to arrest him. He even rolled up his left trouser leg to show the magistrate a dark blue bruise behind the knee.

He said he wanted a medical expert to "take photos" and examine his injuries and the court appointed forensic expert Mario Scerri.

Mr Zahra was refused bail and the court remanded him in custody.

Lawyer Gianluca Caruana Curran appeared for Mr Zahra.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.