A 42-year-old man was on Friday charged with having attacked three police officers while he was in the Ħamrun police station last month. 

Joseph Zammit, who lives in Sta Venera, allegedly resisted and attacked three police officers while carrying out their duties on August 14, charges brought by Inspector Andy Rotin read. 

Rotin told the court that Zammit was behaving strangely at the time, which caused the officers to suspect that he was inebriated. 

He was also accused of causing slight injuries to two of the officers and breaching bail conditions set out for him in other pending procedures, as well as being a recidivist.

Zammit, who was represented by lawyer Roberto Montaldo, pleaded not guilty and asked Magistrate Monica Vella to grant bail. 

The prosecution objected to the request, arguing that given that the case involved acts of violence on police officers and that a civilian witness had yet to testify, it would not be appropriate to grant the accused bail. 

The defence rebutted, saying that since the incident some three weeks ago, the accused had been living freely and had not behaved in a way that would raise concerns that he planned to approach the officers involved or the witness who is yet to testify. 

“My client has submitted himself to treatment and has found a job since the incident. Everything indicates that he has found a way to introduce an ordered system to his life and we should give him an opportunity to carry on with it. Not granting him bail would undoubtedly cause him to lose his job and send him back to square one,” Montaldo said. 

He added that the court should also consider that the accused was a parent who had children he was obliged to provide for financially.

The magistrate granted the request for bail on the condition that Zammit attends all sittings related to his case, agrees not to travel overseas, does not approach nor talk to the police officers or civilian witnesses involved in his case, to not commit another crime and to sign the bail book at the Valletta police station three times a week.

He was also bound to observe a curfew between 10pm and 6am. Bail was granted against a deposit of €1,000 and a personal guarantee of €8,000. 

Vella also issued a protection order in favour of the three officers, and warned Zammit not to approach them, or he could find himself facing a €7,000 fine and a jail term of up to two years. 

“If you see one of them walking down the street, you walk the other way,” Magistrate Vella told him.