I was horrified to read about a reduction in sentence handed down by the courts, following a horrific accident involving two young twin sisters which occurred over a year ago on a zebra crossing in Attard.

To recap on that case, in July 2010 Maximilian Ciantar, an eight-time convicted criminal, was in court to receive a 10-year prison sentence handed down together with a ban on driving for 10 years for his reckless driving.

He had almost killed two young sisters as they crossed the road – on a crossing – on leaving a school in Warda Street, Attard, where they were following a religious education class.

Magistrate Doreen Clarke handed down the sentence to Mr Ciantar as she found him guilty of causing involuntary grievous bodily harm and driving without insurance or a driving licence.

The seriousness of this crime should not be underestimated as the injuries to the two sisters were indeed horrific – a year later the girls are still recovering as both are suffering physically and psychologically from that horrific crash that almost took their lives.

They may not even make a full recovery as was testified by medical experts in the first court case, immediately after the accident. Rebecca was in a coma and in a critical condition while Sarah sustained a broken leg and an injured ankle which affected her growth rate and would need a lot of time to recover.

Would you believe that this same driver had the cheek to appeal to what he thought was a harsh sentence?

In the appeal, his lawyer, Adrian Camilleri, succeeded in persuading the presiding judge, Mr Justice Lawrence Quintano, to reduce the 10-year driving ban to six months. Believe it or not he had also been awarded the sum of €1,000 in breach of his human rights.

Take a look at the facts once again: two young innocent sisters were mowed down crossing the road on a zebra crossing by this speeding maniac who appears to have no respect for the law or order, as witnessed by his many previous convictions.

He manages to get his sentence reduced while the girls will suffer for the rest of their lives, not to mention the suffering of their parents.

Has Malta gone soft on crime?