A police constable was yesterday charged with accepting bribes to write off traffic related offences.

Traffic policeman Ian Grech, 36, of Marsascala, pleaded not guilty to accepting bribes, relapsing and committing a crime he was duty bound to prevent.

During the arraignment, which was over in a few minutes, defence lawyer Mark Vassallo told the court that while he understood the gravity of the charges, his client was going through a separation and money was tight.

Furthermore, his client was “a reliable person” and as a policeman knew the consequences of breaching bail.

The officer allegedly accepted small amounts of money in return for writing off traffic offences.

Uncharacteristically, prosecuting officers Marisa Camilleri and Anthony Cassar said they would leave the decision on whether to grant bail in the hands of the court. In the grand majority of cases, the prosecution objects to bail.

The prosecution only had one request: for the accused not to go to Żabbar. Inspector Cassar said this was the home town of the person from whom the policeman allegedly solicited bribes.

Magistrate Edwina Grima granted Mr Grech bail against a personal guarantee of €10,000 and warned him of the consequences of breaching it.