A drunken man threatened to discharge a revolver’s barrel at a police officer and call the minister to have him fired from the force, a magistrate heard yesterday.
Anthony Borg, 39, from St Paul’s Bay, is, however, insisting that he was so drunk that he did not know what he was doing. He stands accused of making false allegations on police officers, violently resisting arrest, threatening them, driving under the influence of alcohol and without insurance as well as a list of traffic contraventions.
Magistrate Josette Demicoli heard how police officers came across Mr Borg’s abandoned Mercedes in St Anne Street, Floriana, on the morning of August 1. The car was empty and unlocked, and after searching for its owner, a police tow truck was called.
As the car was being loaded onto the truck, Mr Borg showed up with a petrol jerry can and started shouting at the officers. Sergeant Dunstan Camilleri, from the police traffic section, told the court that the car had UK registration plates, even though it was imported in 2011. He said Mr Borg was drunk and began accusing him of having had it for 20 years. At this point the accused was handcuffed.
“After he was arrested, he said he would make sure I was removed as an officer and turned to one of my colleagues and asked for a revolver so that he could empty its barrel on me. I had never suffered this sort of personal attack before,” the sergeant said. Mr Borg also refused to take a breathalyser test, the court heard.
He said the abuse continued at the police depot, where Mr Borg allegedly claimed he would call Nationalist MP Marthese Portelli and embarrass them on Net TV. He also said he would call Justice Minister Owen Bonnici and get them dismissed.
Mr Borg also said it was obvious that the country was back under a Labour government because police were “beating people up”.
Another officer said Mr Borg claimed he was not scared of anyone and that he had been arrested seven times over hold-ups and three times over attempted murders. No such arrest had ever been made. A witness said Mr Borg challenged Inspector Sergio Pisani, the prosecuting officer, to fight.
At the end of the sitting, the accused told Magistrate Josette Demicoli that he was drunk and did not remember what had happened. He also asked the court for help for his alcohol problem. He was again denied bail. The case continues.
Lawyer Martin Fenech represented the man.