A man was yesterday cleared of grievously injuring a former traffic policeman in a hit-and-run accident due to insufficient enough evidence.

The incident occurred on December 21, 2007, in Council of Europe Street, Luqa.

Since then, the policeman, Ian Grech, was fired after he was found guilty, in May, of soliciting bribes to cancel contraventions in an unrelated case.

Mr Grech alleged that Joseph Zammit, 58, of Safi, ran a stop sign, rammed his service motorcycle with the van he was driving and kept going. Mr Grech said he had been given the van’s registration number by passers-by and the police traced it back to the accused.

However, Mr Zammit insisted he had not hit Mr Grech’s motorbike, adding that it was impossible to hit a bike and not realise it.

Magistrate Edwina Grima cleared Mr Zammit of all the charges brought against him, noting that the evidence she had heard was conflicting and did not prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that it had been Mr Zammit who hit Mr Grech’s bike.

Inspector Jurgen Vella prosecuted.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri appeared for the accused.