The Parliamentary Secretary for Animal Rights, Roderick Galdes, yesterday said he had forgiven the man who harassed him and forced his official car to stop during an outburst last month.

Mr Galdes took the witness stand in proceedings against Eugene Galea, 54, from Lija, who has been accused in court of harassing him and driving dangerously.

Mr Galea, a disgruntled former employee of the Animal Welfare Department, was charged after allegedly causing a disturbance outside Mr Galdes’s office in Santa Venera at around 1.30pm on June 5, and blocking the parliamentary secretary’s car as it tried to park.

Testifying, Mr Galdes said that prior to the incident he had met Mr Galea regarding alleged abuses in the Animal Welfare Department and had ordered an inquiry.

Following this meeting, Mr Galdes said he received two Facebook messages from Mr Galea – the first praising him for the work he had done and the second accusing him of hiding evidence. Mr Galdes said he felt threatened by the second message and decided to pass on the information to the police.

He said he had forgiven Mr Galea and was dropping the charges against him.

The case continues.

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