Bus driver`s jail term reduced by nine months

A bus driver who last January was imprisoned for one year had his jail term reduced to three months by the Court of Criminal Appeal.

Joseph Zahra had been found guilty of causing grievous injuries on Vincent Lia, a Public Transport Authority official in Floriana on November 10, 1999. He had also been found guilty of driving a bus in a dangerous, negligent and reckless manner as well as relapsing.

The Magistrates` Court had found Zahra guilty on all counts, imprisoned him for a year and disqualified him from having a driving licence for a year after serving time.

The appeals` court, presided by Mr Justice Vincent Degaetano, noted that in his appeal Zahra claimed that Lia was taking down notes on the details of other buses when the latter stepped back and hit the bus the accused was driving.

Zahra categorically denied he had wanted to injure Lia and argued there was no proof that Lia had suffered permanent injuries.

The court of appeal said that for one to be found guilty of causing grievous injuries, one had either to have the intention to cause an injury or else could foresee that one would be injured and yet remained indifferent and in fact caused the injury.

The court said it was not convinced that the accused had wanted to injure Lia or that he knew he would be causing an injury.

It noted that the accused drove the bus at a snail`s pace close to Lia who was hit by the side of the bus. Even if Lia was hit deliberately, the circumstances of the case did not indicate that Zahra had the intention to injure Lia.

"The case in question is one where the accused failed to predict the predictable and if he had employed the prudence expected from a normal driver he would have realised that he would injure Lia," the court said.

The appeal`s court also took into consideration the fact that the surgeon who had testified about the injuries sustained by Lia was not a court appointed expert and had opined that the injuries could lead to permanent disability but that this was not probable.

Hence, the appeal`s court found Zahra guilty of injuring Lia involuntarily, not voluntarily, as the Magistrates` Court had established. He was also found guilty of dangerous driving, not reckless driving.

Zahra was acquitted of threatening Lia and of reckless driving.

The rest of the sentence was confirmed.