‘They drove at us’ - fisheries official on alleged spearfisher escape

A fisheries department official has recalled the moment a man allegedly drove his car at him and his colleague while attempting to flee the scene after being caught engaged in alleged illegal spearfishing.  

Ramon Abela was testifying alongside Marlon Grech after the two officials were allegedly hit by a car driven by a man accused of illegal spearfishing last month. 

Francis Buhagiar, a 73-year-old art teacher from Safi, is charged with attempting to fish with a speargun at night, for failing to obey an order given by fisheries protection officers and for driving recklessly.  

Last month, the Malta Ranger Unit (MRU) spotted two people in the sea with spearguns in Wied Xaqqa, Birżebbuġa, and alerted the men to the fisheries department.  

Footage of the incident, reported by Times of Malta, shows the moment the alleged spearfisher appeared to drive a car into the fisheries department officials while trying to flee the scene.

Abela, an assistant officer at the fisheries department, was the first to testify. He said the department received a call from the MRU at around 10pm reporting two men swimming with spearguns. Abela and Grech went to the site.

Abela said that when they arrived on the scene, using night vision equipment, they spotted two men diving into the sea, holding a harpoon. The officials waited for the two men to come out of the sea to approach them. One of the men was Buhagiar.

Abela said the two men claimed to be carrying out research activities. At one point, they went back down next to the rocks to change out of their wetsuits. The fisheries department officials went to check on the men, and, as they approached them, they noticed a spearfishing gun hidden behind some rocks.

'Not even the police would take it from me'

Abela said that when the officers tried to confiscate the harpoon, one of the men was heard saying, “Not even the police would take it from me”.

The witness continued, stating that the two men got into their vehicles and “drove into us”.

When Abela was asked who was driving, he pointed to the accused.

Abela said that after the incident, he went to the health centre to be examined after the car hit his leg. He added that the attending doctor said he had suffered injuries in the incident.

The official said he had footage of the entire incident.

During cross-examination, defence lawyer Franco Debono asked Abela exactly what he saw, given that the incident happened in the middle of the night and in the dark.

Abela repeated that he saw two men clearly using night vision equipment, and that they were wearing a wetsuit, had harpoons, a bucket and a torch.

When asked if he spoke to the accused, Abela said the accused denied he was fishing and said that he was carrying out research.

Debono asked if the witness knew what the men were doing in the sea. Abela said he did not know, but that he saw the spearguns in their hands.

'Vulgar'

The second witness to testify was Grech. He repeated Abela’s statements, adding that the men said they were out at sea carrying out research at night to avoid getting hit by boats during the day.

Grech said he noticed how, when the two men went down to the rocks to change out of their wetsuits, one of them tried to dispose of the harpoon. He said the officers went down next to the men and found the harpoon among the rocks.

“At that point, they started to speak to us rudely and in a vulgar manner,” Grech said, adding that they did not reply to the men.

He said that they followed the men back to the car, and at one point, he was standing in front of the car. He said when they tried to call the police, the accused started the car. He explained how he took a step back, and the accused then drove into him.

Grech said the officers and the rangers filed a police report after the incident, and he also went for an examination at the polyclinic.

During cross-examination, Debono asked what he saw the men doing, to which Grech said he saw the men in the water swimming.

“So not fishing?” he asked. Grech confirmed that he had not seen the men fishing.

Police Inspector Elliot Magro asked what the men were holding, to which Grech said harpoons.

Malta Rangers Unit officer Cami Appelgren also testified in the case. She said that the men were carrying buckets, spearguns, and a buoy.

She confirmed the accused was driving the car and said she also had footage.  

The case was deferred to 8 July.

Magistrate Anne Marie Thake is presiding over the case.

The prosecution is being led by police inspector Elliot Magro and Darrly Farr. Lawyer Edrick Micallef Figallo appeared on behalf of the Fisheries Department.