Max Ciantar, who is being held in custody after repeatedly defying court-imposed driving bans, said in court today that while many wars around the world were not reported by the media, his traffic accidents were.

If a bomb went off in a Church, and he had a car accident at the same time, his accident would be reported first, he added.

Mr Ciantar was testifying in the compilation of evidence against him after he was arrested earlier this month and accused of violating a driving ban, causing an accident and threatening the driver of the other car in Hamrun.

He said this had been a minor traffic accident in which door mirrors were hit.

During the proceedings, Mr Ciantar's lawyer filed a request for the granting of bail. Mr Ciantar said his biggest wish was to see his son, who is currently under a care order. The court said it would issue its bail decision at a later date.

On July 14, the driver of the other car involved in the Hamrun crash,  Joseph Catania said that he was driving through Marsa while Mr Ciantar was driving from the direction of Valletta at speed. He hit the side view mirror and the two cars stopped. Mr Catania said his daughter got out and complained to Mr Ciantar about the damage he had caused.

An argument broke out and Mr Catania said he also got out of the car. Mr Ciantar got back into his car reversed hit their car and another one and drove off. 

DRUG OVERDOSE

Earlier in today's sitting, probation officer Maryrose Farrugia said that on the day of the accident she had called Mr Ciantar because he had missed an appointment. The call was made after the Hamrun accident. She said he seemed to be out of sorts and he was taken to the Detox Centre.

Dr George Grech of the Detox Centre had said that he had overdosed and referred him to hospital.

Ms Farrugia said she had been following Mr Ciantar since 2007 and between June last year and June this year he was tested 10 times for drugs, and he was clean every time. While he did listen to her and heed advice, on the day he had overdosed because had a problem with his girlfriend.

Maximilian Ciantar was at the centre of a public outcry when he ran over twin girls in Attard in 2011.

He was released from prison after serving 16 months of his two-year jail term following the Attard incident and his 10-year driving ban was reduced to 16 months.

But one month later he was found driving in breach of that ban. He was granted bail but ran into more problems when he attempt to assault a journalist covering his court case. His bail was revoked.

In February 2012, days after he was released from prison, he was fined €800 for heroin possession. He had previously been found guilty of heroin possession and fined €600.

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