The mayor of Santa Venera has been cleared of driving under the influence of alcohol and refusing to allow LESA officials to conduct a breathalyser test during the village feast two years ago.

Magistrate Victor Axiak cleared Stephen Sultana after ruling that he had “reasonable doubts" as to the versions of the LESA officers and the charges brought against Sultana had not been sufficiently proven.

The incident happened during the Santa Venera feast week in July 2022.

The magistrate heard how the officers filed a police report against Sultana. They claimed that on July 30 at about 2am one of them was resting his legs on the dashboard of his car as his shift had started at 6pm and would last until 7am.

Sultana walked up to the car, knocked and started telling him off for not doing his job. Both the officer in the car and his colleague - who was monitoring  St Joseph High Street - said Sultana smelt of alcohol and that they then saw him get into his car and drive off.

They contacted their colleagues who were stationed further along the road in another fixed point near the St Joseph Institute. They told them to look out for Sultana’s car as he may be under the influence.

The colleagues stopped the car and said Sultana reeked of alcohol and refused to take a breathalyser test.

In his testimony, Sultana, represented by lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri, explained that the local council had paid for two officers to man each fixed point during the feast. But they had been slacking.

On the night in question, the mayor saw one officer manning one fixed point in St Joseph High Street, while the other was in the car with his feet on the dashboard. He complained to their superior. When he drove away toward St Joseph Institute, he noticed another car with two officers asleep inside it. He denied being drunk or refusing to take the breathalyser test. He said he was never asked to.

The magistrate noted that while there were CCTV cameras in the areas in question, the footage did not capture the areas where the alleged incidents happened. The magistrate ruled that the charges brought against Sultana had not been proven and cleared him.