A truck driver whose dangerous manoeuvres made headlines and prompted hundreds of complaints will also face charges for a hit-and-run incident.
The information was revealed on Friday morning when proceedings continued against Marius Camilleri, the truck driver whose antics sparked off some 700 Facebook complaints, as one LESA representative explained in court.
Inspector Sergio Pisani told the court that on November 30, Mr Camilleri had been stopped by wardens after several people reported a vehicle being driven recklessly in the Mosta and Naxxar area.
The truck had not been licensed for two years and was using a road licence belonging to a motorcycle, the prosecutor explained.
Mr Camilleri intervened in proceedings directly when prosecutors denied his lawyer's claim that he had received a letter from the police at his address the day before his arrest.
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However, he was soon silenced by Magistrate Grazio Mercieca, who sharply rapped the accused. “You don’t joke around with this court. You don’t know what I’m like. I will jail you,” warned the magistrate.
A traffic police sergeant also testified how the accused had refused to get out of his truck when first stopped by wardens, first saying he was in pain and claiming to have an appointment with the police commissioner and then swearing at the wardens.
He later obeyed police orders by driving his truck to the Transport Malta impound yard, where he was arrested.
A Transport Malta representative also confirmed on oath that the truck in question had been registered to the accused since 2008, although its licence had lapsed in January 2016.
Hit-and-run
The victim of the hit-and-run incident recalled under oath how he had been driving in Mdina Road when a motorcycle hit his car and drove off. He took down the details of the fleeing bike and contacted the police who, however, were unable to trace the culprit.
A representative of a local insurance agency testified that the truck had been covered under a commercial policy. Although the Kimco motorbike was insured in Mr Camilleri's name, there were no records of the accused’s bike licence in the company’s possession, the witness explained.
The regional manager of LESA also told the court how the organisation had been tagged on a Facebook page which had received some 700 complaints and eyewitness accounts of the truck driver’s dangerous antics on the road.
Defence lawyer Leslie Cuschieri once again requested bail, arguing that the charges had been inflated “for the media” and that the original charges had been subsequently extended to weeks and months earlier.
However, the court turned down the request since witnesses were still to testify.
A second request for the unloading of the gravel consignment on the impounded truck, was upheld by the court.
Lawyer Leslie Cuschieri was defence counsel. Inspector Sergio Pisani prosecuted.