Tourists arraigned over road rage incident

Three British tourists involved in a road rage incident were yesterday charged with taking part in a fight in which their alleged aggressor was hurt.

Terence Cooper, 59, and his children Gary, 29, and Michelle, 22, pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them, including breaching the peace and swearing in public.

Ms Cooper was soothed by her father as she burst into tears three times during the sitting. A black eye she allegedly suffered during the fight looked much worse than it did the day before when she appeared in court for the arraignment of the alleged aggressors.

Noel Falzon, 21, a security guard from Birkirkara, and his unemployed friend, Anthony Muscat, 19, of St Paul’s Bay were on Tuesday charged with the attempted murder of Gary Cooper and hitting him 13 times on the head with a pointed instrument on Sunday evening.

In the fight, Mr Falzon suffered an abrasion to his nose and the Coopers were charged with inflicting grievous injuries on him.

The family had arrived for their holiday just a few hours before the incident and were on their way to have dinner when they almost crashed into a car, in which Mr Falzon and Mr Muscat were, at a junction in St Paul’s Bay.

Police Inspector Therese Sciberras filed an application for the Coopers to testify as soon as possible because they would be leaving on Sunday. However, Magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna said that, by law, he could not hear their evidence or that of the two men since they had cases against each other.

In pleas on bail, the prosecuting officer pointed out that the Coopers owned an apartment in Xemxija, supporting their release. Their defence lawyer highlighted the fact that her clients’ aggressors were granted bail against a personal guarantee of €5,000. Anything more than that would be unfair, the lawyer pointed out.

Magistrate Apap Bologna granted them bail against a personal guarantee of €5,000 each.