An off-duty police officer who tried to blame a hapless motorist for damage to his car lied under oath and should be investigated by the police commissioner, a court said on Friday. 

The court's censure of Mark Galea came during criminal proceedings against Alan Debono, who had been charged with having seriously injured Mr Galea in a 2006 crash on the Alla u Ommu hill, Naxxar.

Mr Galea was driving a Toyota Corolla at the time, with Mr Debono behind the wheel of an Alfa Romeo.

Off-duty officer Mr Galea said that he lost control of his vehicle and was subsequently hit by Mr Debono's Alfa Romeo. Mr Galea said the crash had caused €1,060 of damage to his car and left him with a permanent disability as a result of a muscular neck injury. 

However, Mr Debono driver strongly rebutted these claims and denied that there had ever been an impact between the two vehicles.

Mr Debono insisted he had hit the brakes the moment he saw Mr Galea's car skid out of control.

But rather than proceed along his way, Mr Galea had emerged from his Toyota, shouting and insisting that he had been hit by the accused’s car. 

Mr Debono resolutely stuck to his version of events throughout criminal proceedings against him, despite a police report filed at Naxxar police station shortly after the accident indicating otherwise. 

'Abundantly clear' he was not telling truth - court

However, an independent surveyor’s report lent credence to Mr Debono's version of events. It found no link between the damage in the police officer’s car and the alleged crash, and confirmed that the accused’s Alfa Romeo had suffered no damage whatsoever.

This report, not contradicted by the prosecution, led the court, presided over by magistrate Marse Anne Farrugia, to declare that it had “no hesitation in saying that the accused’s version was more credible.”

Another report drawn up by a court-appointed medical expert further strengthened the Court’s resolve, since it had found no evidence of permanent disability, contrary to the conclusion reached by the alleged victim’s private orthopedic consultant.

It was “abundantly clear” that the police officer had not been telling the truth, the Court observed, noting that the alleged injured party had driven his Toyota from the site of the accident to the Naxxar police station, onto the Mosta health centre, before finally going to hospital.

“This is certainly not compatible with the actions of a person who had been injured in a road accident, such that years later, he still complained of the pain,” the magistrate remarked.

Moreover, after being treated in hospital he had been certified as not having suffered serious injuries and had been discharged without any outpatient appointment to follow up.

Even his order for the other driver to file a report at the local police station went against “every principle of preserving the scene of a crime” which as a police officer he must have known very well, the court observed.

On the other hand, the accused’s testimony had been corroborated by a number of witnesses and medical experts, leading the court to acquit Mr Debono of charges against him.

However, in a separate decree, the court ordered the Police Commissioner to conduct all "necessary investigations" against Mark Galea in view of the court’s opinion that the officer had lied when testifying under oath and subsequently “depending on their outcome, begin proceedings against this person for giving false testimony in this case and for committing every other crime that results to the Commissioner from his investigation.”

Lawyer Giannella Demarco was defence counsel to Mr Debono.
Superintendent Kevin J. Farrugia prosecuted.