A drunk Somali who broke an officer’s nose, splattering blood on the walls of the Marsa police station, was yesterday sentenced to three years and nine months in prison and fined €4,500.
Jimale Hassan Abdullahi, 27, pleaded guilty before Magistrate Neville Camilleri to attacking and seriously injuring PC David Bezzina.
The court heard the man was short tempered, having been found guilty of attacking another police officer in the past. On that occasion, he had been jailed for six months. He spent another 18 months in jail for assaulting an elderly man during a robbery and had been given a suspended sentence for assaulting the Marsa open centre manager.
The incident occurred at 2.20am yesterday when Mr Abdullahi went to the police station demanding to speak to a police sergeant about a report he had filed that someone had damaged his car.
When PC Bezzina told him the sergeant was not there, he became aggressive and assaulted him. The officer radioed for help and Mr Abdullahi was arrested and taken to a health centre where he was certified to be suffering from slight injuries.
Police Inspector Robert Vella said in court it was not right that officers should end up being assaulted or abused when doing their duty, noting that assaults on the police were becoming more frequent. Thus, the prosecution was insisting on an effective prison term of not less than four years and a fine of €4,000.
Defence counsel Noel Bartolo said the policeman had provoked his client by tearing up some of his papers but he was still sorry for his actions.
Magistrate Camilleri commented that assaults on police officers were “unacceptable”.
In a statement, the Police Association reiterated its call for a substantial increase in the punishment for crimes against members of the force. It said that there was no insurance policy to make good for damages suffered by members of the force.
The General Workers’ Union’s Police Officers Union condemned the incident and the Marsa local council expressed solidarity with the police officer and reiterated its call for increased patrols in the locality because it was not the first time that Marsa residents were targeted.