A woman who failed her driving licence test seven times was cleared of trying to bribe her examiner because his version was deemed flawed.

Harry Saliba raised the alarm when he reported that the woman had put her hand in her pocket and he heard the rustling of paper.

“Through experience,” he said, he knew she was about to offer him a bribe.

In court, Mr Saliba testified that she had actually produced bank notes from her pocket. He said he was not sure of the denomination but noted that they were brownish in colour.

Ruth Camilleri, 23, from Rabat, categorically denied ever offering money to him, adding he got upset when she complained that examiners were nitpicking and failing her over petty shortcomings.

The court heard that the incident occurred on January 29, 2010, after she tried to turn on the ignition but failed because the steering lock was activated.

Mr Saliba had to help her get the car started. From that point, their versions of what actually happened diverge.

She said that after she complained he became very angry, stopped the test and got out of the car. He waved down a passing car and got a lift back to the examiners’ office, a short distance away.

In the police report, Mr Saliba said she put her hand in her pocket and he understood that she was about to offer him money and he did not want to get involved as such things had happened before.

Magistrate Audrey Demicoli noticed that, after evaluating their behaviour on the witness stand, she found Ms Camilleri to be credible.

She said Ms Camilleri managed to prove to the point of probability and that the examiner had based his allegations on impressions and had, in fact, seen nothing of what he had reported.

The magistrate noted that, even when he testified, Mr Saliba was not entirely certain of what he had seen.