A woman accused of a racially motivated attack on a bus commuter shed tears in court yesterday as she embraced the victim, who withdrew his complaint.
Alison Cutajar, 30, from Marsaxlokk, insisted she was not a racist when she appeared before Magistrate Carol Peralta alongside the victim, black Hungarian student Jack Daboma.
The incident last month created a stir after police officers arrested Mr Daboma, only to release him a few minutes later when they realised he had been spat upon and possibly racially abused.
Ms Cutajar was charged with insulting Mr Daboma, inciting racial hatred, smearing his reputation, assaulting him and breaching the peace. But the police also charged Mr Daboma with disturbing the peace and smearing the reputation of his aggressor.
Yesterday in court none of the charges were read out after lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri, Angie Muscat and Amadeus Cachia said Ms Cutajar was apologising for her behaviour and her actions. They said she had not intended to be racist or in any way offend or bring Mr Daboma into disrepute.
He accepted the apology and the declaration that the incident was not instigated by any racist sentiments
“Her comments were never of a racist nature and she is not racist, neither now nor on that day,” they said. They added that her actions stemmed from anxiety because she had just been to hospital and had undergone an operation.
Lawyer Roberto Montalto, acting for Mr Daboma, said his client was accepting the apology and the declaration that the incident was not instigated by any racist sentiments, and he was opting not to testify against Ms Cutajar.
Magistrate Peralta declared the issue settled after noting that both were withdrawing the criminal complaints they had filed against one another. On Dr Debono’s suggestion, the two shook hands and hugged, with Ms Cutajar being overtaken with emotion.
The incident took place on the troubled first day that the Tallinja bus card was launched, with its complications causing much frustration for commuters at the Valletta terminus.
When Mr Daboma tried to organise an unruly group of customers at the terminus into an orderly queue, he was assaulted and spat upon.
He was then pinned to the ground and wrongfully arrested by police officers in a struggle that was captured on video.
The intervening RIU officers released him when a journalist witnessing the scene pointed out that he was innocent.
During yesterday’s sitting, Magistrate Peralta heard that PC Joseph Debrincat – who was present during the incident – was facing internal disciplinary proceedings over the way he had handled the incident.