Developer Sandro Chetcuti this morning filed a sworn application before a magistrate in which he challenged the police to prosecute former GRTU chief Vince Farrugia for perjury.
Mr Chetcuti filed the application, known in legal jargon as a challenge against the Police Commissioner, before Magistrate Aaron Bugeja, requesting the court to order the police to charge Mr Farrugia in court.
He is requesting that Mr Farrugia be charged with suborning witnesses to give false evidence, perjury and fabrication of false evidence.
On September 18 last year, Mr Chetcuti was convicted of having slightly injured Mr Farrugia, the former GRTU Director-General when he assaulted him at the association's offices in 2010.
He was condemned to a one month jail term suspended for one year. Mr Chetcuti was ordered not to speak to Mr Farrugia for a year in terms of a €1,000 protection order.
The court, presided by Magistrate Edwina Grima, also ordered the Commissioner of Police to investigate Mr Farrugia and other witnesses who may have testified falsely before the court.
The case took place in March 2010 and Mr Chetcuti had originally been accused of Mr Farrugia's attempted murder but the prosecution had dropped this charge, leaving assault with intent to cause serious injury as the most serious charge.
In his challenge, Mr Chetcuti said that despite the court order, no legal proceedings have yet been instituted against Mr Farrugia.
In her judgment, Magistrate Edwina Grima, who has since been promoted to judge, noted that even before the court procedures started, Mr Farrugia had tried to use his influential position to ensure that Mr Chetcuti faced a trial by media.
Evidence of SMS messages and other contacts showed that he had contacted journalists and even vetted articles and comments in the press.
The court said it could understand the emotions of somebody who was the victim of aggression, but this did not give him any right to carry out manoeuvres to twist the hand of justice.
The evidence showed that Mr Farrugia had been punched so hard that Mr Chetcuti broke his hand.
Lawyers Edward Gatt and William Cuschieri signed the application.