A homeless and jobless man, who walked to Auberge de Castille on Monday in the hope of flagging his plight to the prime minister, ended up in deeper trouble when he vented his frustration by banging on a ministerial vehicle and then spitting at a policeman who tried to stop him. 

The police sergeant on watch outside the prime minister’s office spotted Ashraf Sultan, a 38-year-old Maltese citizen, who was banging on a ministerial vehicle parked alongside Merchants Street. 

The officer walked up to the man and tried to stop him. 

But in a fit of anger, the man spat at the police sergeant and refused to obey his orders, and ended up landing in police custody. 

On Tuesday, the man wearing a t-shirt, bermudas and flip flops, was escorted to court facing charges for insulting and threatening the officer, attempting to damage government property, refusing to obey legitimate police orders, assaulting the sergeant, wilfully breaching the public peace as well as swearing in public. 

The incident took place at around 3.30pm, explained prosecuting Inspector Gabriel Micallef.

The accused was facing problems in life and went to Castille in the hope of meeting the prime minister to ask for help in finding a home of his own. 

The man, who told the court that he previously had a job in construction, had ended up homeless and was staying at a social shelter. 

“You went to the wrong place,” started off presiding Magistrate Joseph Mifsud, pointing out that the accused should have gone to the Housing Authority and submitted a proper application for social accommodation. 

“That was no way to go about it,” chided the court.

After consulting legal aid lawyer, Josette Sultana, the accused registered an admission which he confirmed after being given time to reconsider. 

The prosecution pointed out that the accused’s attitude had improved since the time of his arrest. In light of his early guilty plea, the court condemned him to a €800 fine, which was mandatory in terms of law. 

The court directed the accused to pay the fine within three years.

The man was conditionally discharged for three years in respect of the other charges.

In light of the accused’s housing troubles, the court called upon the Housing Authority to help the man find a suitable home or apply for a subsidy scheme on rental property. 

Inspectors Gabriel Micallef and Daryl Borg prosecuted. Lawyer Josette Sultana was defence counsel.