A doctor today admitted he issued a medical certificate to a woman excusing her from attending court when he had not examined her.

Ravindra Algarwal made his admission while testifying in the case against Alice Mary Regan, 34, who lives in Gozo.

She stands accused with breaching bail in a case where she is pleading not guilty to attacking police.

Questioned about the certificate he issued, Dr Algarwal said he had relied on what Ms Regan told him and documents she had provided without checking their veracity. This was a “gross error on my part”, he told the court.

Ms Regan, he said, was complaining of suffering seizures but he never witnessed one and never treated her for them. Yet, he said, she did seem to have serious health problems.

The accused, alongside her boyfriend at the time, Count Henri Sant Cassia, were charged over a drunken incident in which Mr Sant Cassia punched a policeman in Paceville while she allegedly struck an officer as she violently resisted arrest in August last year.

Mr Sant Cassia was found guilty and was conditionally discharged for one year. The case against Ms Regan continues.

Ms Regan’s friend, David Pollina, who offered her a place to live in Gozo when her roommate moved out of a shared apartment in Mosta, also admitted to writing a certificate purporting to be a medical one when he was not a medical professional.

The letter excused her for signing the bail book for a month. He said Ms Regan was admitted to hospital several times and suffered seizures and was in no condition to walk let alone go and sign a bail book.

He told the court that he had phoned the police to tell them that she was moving to Gozo and had given them the address but they told him that she would need to go in person which she did.

Police Inspector Luke Bonello presented a log of all phone calls made regarding her bail, medical certificates presented and notes. These showed no record of the accused or Mr Pollina contacting the police, he said.

The case continues.