A driver has been fined €200 after he ignored a police officer's warning to move his vehicle, prompting a street chase after a verbal altercation.

One evening last summer, Carlo Stivala, 28, parked his Chevrolet Captiva outside the Sliema Hotel on the Gżira seafront when he was approached by an officer who asked him to move his vehicle elsewhere.

He ignored him and the officer came back and a heated verbal exchange between the two ensued. The driver decided to drive away, with the police motorcycle giving chase, siren wailing.

The court observed that there appeared to be a rise in the trend of disobeying police orders and, worse still, of physically assaulting police officers who were simply performing their duty

The officer eventually forced the man to a halt but not before his car scraped past the police BMW bike. The policeman then tried to balance the bike on the stand but it toppled over onto him.

Criminal action was instituted against the driver over a series of offences related to ignoring police orders and his breach of traffic regulations.

The court, presided over by Magistrate Joseph Mifsud, observed that there appeared to be a rise in the trend of disobeying police orders and, worse still, of physically assaulting police officers who were simply performing their duty. This underlined the need for a "zero tolerance" attitude towards wrongdoers.

"A police order is to be obeyed at once and every officer deserves respect always and everywhere,” the court declared. Officers are there to protect the citizens and they should not fear taking action against those who breach the law,” he said.

"Officers are there to protect the citizens and they should not fear taking action against those who breach the law," he said.

On the other hand, the court rapped the prosecution for its shortcomings, remarking upon aspects of the submissions which certainly lacked objectivity.

The court also expressed disappointment over the Attorney General's role, saying that rather than analysing the results of the inquiry, the AG had opted for the easier path of “simply copying the charge sheet, mistakes and all”.

Declaring that the accused had used his car as a weapon was a statement of "pure fantasy", said the court, remarking that this fact had not been proved. 

Appealing to the top brass of the police corps, the court observed that police officers were to receive adequate instruction on basic procedural law.