A contractor who had been accused of assaulting former Paola mayor Domenic Grima has been cleared of the charges after a court ruled that there was no evidence that the assault really took place.

Carmel Dimech, 59, of Zebbug, was cleared of assaulting and threatening Mr Grima during an incident in the Paola Square on October 30, 2009.

The court heard Mr Grima testify how on the day in question, he had been informed that works in the square were not being done in accordance with an agreement with the Water Services Corporation. So he went to the square to tell the contractor to stop all works until the issue is settled.

Mr Grima said Mr Dimech began swearing and insulting him before proceeding with the assault.

Mr Dimech insisted he had not assaulted Mr Grima, a version corroborated by other eyewitnesses who said that at no time did they witness any assault.

In her judgment, Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera ruled that Mr Grima had no right to ask or order Mr Dimech to stop the work as the matter should have been taken up with the corporation rather than its contractor.

Moreover, the court said it doubted whether the assault had really taken place, adding that Mr Grima had failed to produce any evidence related to the alleged injuries he had suffered. She said police officers who went on site testified that Mr Grima had no visible injuries.

The court, therefore, concluded that in view of conflicting evidence, the case against Mr Dimech had not been proven.

Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi appeared for Mr Dimech.