A policeman “proudly” emerged from among his colleagues to admit that he had just assaulted a motorist, a magistrate was told yesterday.

Magistrate Carol Peralta was hearing testimony in the case against two Rapid Intervention Unit officers, David Camilleri and Mark Tonna, who are accused of the May 3 assault of driver Jean Paul Aquilina in Mġarr. They are pleading not guilty.

The officers are accused of beating motorist Jean Paul Aquilina.

Mr Aquilina, in a separate case, is himself accused of assulting the two officers but maintains he did not lift a finger against them.

Both cases were heard yesterday and in the first, that against the officers, the father of Mr Aquilina’s partner told the court that Mr Camilleri admitted beating up Mr Aquilina.

“I received a call from my daughter, who was hysterical and told me: ‘Come quickly because they’re going to kill him.’ I arrived within four minutes and found between eight and 12 police officers at the scene,” Jason Vassallo said.

“I asked the police officers to try and establish who had beaten him and Mr Camilleri came forward and told me it was he who had done it, and he was not ashamed to say so [mhux se noqgħod niddejjaq ngħidlek].”

“He was almost proud of what he had done,” Mr Vassallo added.

In his own case, also before Magistrate Peralta, Mr Aquilina, 24, of Mosta, stands charged with dangerous driving, assaulting the officers and disobeying their orders.

Testifying in that case, Mr Aquilina insisted he was not drunk, was not swerving as he drove on the Mġarr bypass and had done nothing to provoke the attack.

He said that as he was driving home from a family barbecue in Mġarr his mobile rang. He looked at the screen to see who it was when he saw beacon lights and a police siren that signalled him to stop.

The officers claimed Mr Aquilina was swerving as he drove but he insisted he was driving normally, he said. He was asked to step out of the car and present his ID.

I received a call from my daughter, who was hysterical and told me: ‘Come quickly because they’re gong to kill him’

As he was about to get back in to fetch his mobile phone, Mr Camilleri put his arm around his neck, punched him in the eye and pushed him to the ground, face down, Mr Aquilina told the court. Mr Tonna then ran towards him and forced his hands behind his back, while Mr Camilleri placed his shoe on his face.

“He was punching me and kicking me. I did not tell them anything, and I did not insult them,” Mr Aquilina said.

But to this Magistrate Peralta said: “This does not make sense because according to you it was unprovoked.”

Mr Aquilina replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Cars were passing by so the officers lifted me up and threw me onto my car, smashing its side mirror in the process.

“They dragged me to the pavement and placed me there, again face down, while Mr Camilleri continued to kick me until another police car arrived and I was handcuffed and brought back to my feet,” he said.

Eventually he was taken to the Mosta health centre and later to Mater Dei Hospital. He said he needed an operation to fix a bone in his nose.

Replying to questions from lawyer Tonio Azzopardi, appearing for Mr Camilleri, Mr Aquilina said he could not explain the scratches Mr Camilleri sustained.

He denied hitting any of the officers, warning them that he would speak to the minister to have them sacked or placing his hand on the police weapon.

Mr Aquilina also denied tearing Mr Camilleri’s uniform. This was corroborated by other witnesses who testified seeing the officers’ uniform intact, not only at Mġarr but also at the Mosta police station later on.

“His polo shirt was not torn. I saw him [Mr Camilleri] at the police station later and it was intact,” Mr Vassallo said.

The case continues next week.

Lawyer Mario de Marco is appearing for Mr Aquilina. Dr Azzopardi is appearing for Mr Camilleri while Arthur Azzopardi and Kathleen Grima are representing Mr Tonna.