An "arrogant" Italian bus driver was this afternoon fined €300 and will also lose his job with the public transport service provider after a magistrate ruled that his arrogance and attitude made him unfit for the job. 

As he ordered that a copy of the decision be transmitted to Transport Malta to take action it deemed fit, Magistrate Carol Peralta found 48-year-old Antonio D'Antuono guilty of verbally threatening a British passenger who had drawn his attention to the fact that he was using his mobile while driving. 

During the rowdy hearing, the magistrate also fined him a further €20 for contempt of court after he was repeatedly warned not to smile and gesticulate while witnesses were testifying. 

Mr D’Antuono was charged with using a mobile phone whilst driving, failing to be in full control of a moving vehicle, public blasphemy and threatening the passenger, John Oliver Kane, who was in turn charged with offending the driver during an altercation. He was, however, cleared of the charges. 

The court heard Mr Kane explained how on October 29 last year, he had caught a bus to Mater Dei from the Bugibba bus terminus. During the trip, Mr D’Antuono had threatened to hit him after he had asked him not to use his cell phone whilst at the wheel of the bus.

The tourist told the court that he was told to "sit down and shut up", by the driver, who then stopped the vehicle so he could alight and smoke a cigarette. When the bus got to Burmarrad, the driver did not open the bus doors, effectively trapping the passengers on the bus. He was also hurling abuse at the tourist. 

"I told him it was not safe to use the mobile while driving and he simply lost the plot. He started telling me 'I'll hit you, I'll hit you'. It was a very unpleasant situation to be in. I called a friend to tell her I was stuck on a bus and needed help," Mr Kane told the court. 

At a later stage, Mr Kane also realised that he had given the driver €1.50 and had been given a 50c bus ticket but no change. 

The bus driver insisted on testifying during the sitting. Getting very agitated at times and at one point also kneeling down as he swore he was telling the truth, the bus driver repeatedly said the tourist was "a liar".

But his behaviour on the witness stand did not impress the magistrate, who told him: "Can't you see that you're making a fool of yourself?"

As he continued, Mr D'Antuolo said he had had a problem with the bus doors since 6am that morning and only used his mobile phone on bus stop as he tried to call the control room to tell them about the problem with the doors. 

"i told him I had a problem with the door but he would not listen. He told me "who do you think you are using your mobile" but I told him there was a mechanical problem. He rang the bell and when I stopped he started yelling at me again. It is true I called him a liar but that is all I did," the driver said. 

Eventually, after 45 minutes on the bus, the passengers disembarked through the emergency exit. 

Asked by the magistrate whether he was always that nervous, apprehensive and agitated, the driver replied: "I become like this when people lie."

During submission, Mr Kane's lawyer, Joe Giglio, said he was "flabbergasted" at how these scene happened on Maltese roads and was even more surprised to learn that Mr D'Antuolo was still working as a bus driver, saying this was "ridiculous and worrying" who "should shame other bus drivers.

The prosecution told the court that CCTV footage from cameras installed inside the bus did show the driver unsuccessfully attempting to open the bus doors, as well as his mobile conversations. 

Magistrate Peralta found the driver guilty of all the charges brought against him, fined him €300 and ordered that a copy of the decision be sent to Transport Malta as the man was "not suitable for the job".