Discrepancies in the version of events given by two police officers have led to the acquittal of a skipper who filed an appeal after being convicted for speeding in his boat.

The case dates back to three years ago, when Paul William Pullicino was accused before a magistrates’ court of navigating his speedboat at a velocity exceeding 10 knots, as well as piloting his vessel recklessly.

The incident had allegedly taken place in Grand Harbour on the evening of September 8, 2013.

Two police officers from the maritime section had testified of seeing the accused entering the harbour, with one of them saying they had even chased him after his boat was seen planing due to the excessive speed at which it was being piloted.

The first court had also heard that when the officers stopped the man at sea, he had admitted to exceeding the 10-knot speed limit, even though he was unable to tell the precise velocity of his vessel.

In January 2014, the court found Mr Pullicino guilty of the speeding charge and fined him €600. Subsequently, the man filed an appeal which was heard before Magistrate Giovanni Grixti.

In his submissions, he argued that the incident had occurred before he had crossed the breakwater and consequently the aforementioned speed limit did not apply, since he was outside the harbour.

In its decision, the Appeals Court noted that the police had not been not equipped with a speed-measuring device and had not presented other forms of evidence like footage or photos.

The court also highlighted the fact that one of the two officers had made no mention at all that the boat was planing, nor that a chase had ensued until the man was finally stopped.

The court said that such a “significant discrepancy” could not be dismissed, while raising the possibility that one of the officers had mixed up this incident with another case.

Consequently, Mr Pullicino was acquitted, due to insufficient evidence.

Lawyer Lucio Sciriha acted as defence counsel.