Former minister Tonio Fenech has asked to give evidence in an appeal due to be made by Dorianne Camilleri after she was sentenced to five years imprisonment for having killed an elderly man and seriously injured his sister in a traffic accident on the Rabat road in May 2011.

Mr Fenech witnessed the accident and had assisted the injured persons, but was never called to give evidence before the magisterial inquiry.

He told the Xarabank website that his memory was jolted when he heard about the court’s sentence and saw last Friday’s programme, when a call for witnesses was made.

The court in handing down the five-year prison term had said that was the lowest sentence it could impose, while observing that no witnesses had been called other than Ms Camilleri. The law is in the process of being changed, giving magistrates elbow room to impose lower sentences.

Mr Fenech was a minister at the time of the accident and was tavelling in his ministerial car. He said he saw a van in front of Ms Camilleri’s car turn into a side road.

The  elderly man and woman had been crossing the road in front of the van and Ms Camilleri had no time to avoid them, he said.  She was unable to see them earlier because of the van.

He said Ms Camilleri was not driving fast since the van in front of her had slowed to turn into the side street.