A magistrate this afternoon ordered the immediate release of a man charged with resisting the police and interfering in their investigations.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera ruled that the arrest of Justin James Caffrey, the chief executive of a financial services company that operates from Malta, was illegal.

The court heard how Mr Caffrey was walking through St George’s Road in Paceville just before 5am today when he saw a bouncer beat up a young man. He went to call the police and two police officers arrived and only to say that an ambulance was on the way.

Mr Caffrey’s defence lawyers, Giannella de Marco and George Hyzler told the court that their client was shocked at the officers’ “inaction” and was tapping on their shoulders to do something about the incident. Mr Caffrey was holding the young man in his arms and had his shirt covered in the youth’s blood.

The ambulance arrived and took the youth to hospital but Mr Caffrey could not understand how the police officers “walked away from their duty”. Seeing their nonchalance, the Irishman called the police “f***** b*******” and that was when he was pinned to the ground and arrested.

He was charged under arrest, accused of reviling the police, resisting them, disturbing public order, disobeying their orders, being drunk and uttering obscene words.

Police Inspector Trevor Micallef defended the arrest, saying the accused of interfering with the officers’ duties, “telling them what they should and should not do” and at one point even told them he was a judge. He said the youth, named as Francesco Coppola, was hospitalised and released after receiving treatment for slight injuries.

But Magistrate Scerri Herrera saw no justification for the arrest. She ordered his immediate release and ordered him to inform the inspector with the dates when he will be in Malta to face the charges brought against him.

She further ordered that the youth be found and brought to court at the next sitting along with the four police officers who were involved in the case.