Tourist strip-searched, held after ‘scratching’ police officer’s car

A tourist said she was strip-searched and held in a cell overnight after being accused of scratching a car belonging to an off-duty police officer, a claim she denies. 

Bilyana Puliyska said she was pressured to pay over €400 in damages and sign a waiver accepting responsibility without criminal liability in exchange for charges being dropped.

The Bulgarian-Greek national was visiting Malta in May with her family when she was accused of scratching the left tail-light of a police officer’s private vehicle following a minor disagreement between the officer and her husband over a parking space.

Despite thinking the matter was settled after being told she could go home following initial questioning by the police, late the next night four officers visited her family’s rented apartment and arrested her in the presence of her husband, mother and three young children.

Puliyska, a teacher, said she was strip-searched at the police headquarters, in Floriana, and kept in a cell overnight before being transferred to the Paola police station where, she claimed, she was pressured to plead guilty.

The 32-year-old mother of three eventually agreed to pay €427.75 for the alleged damage, without accepting criminal responsibility, in exchange for charges being dropped. The family left Malta the following day.

She later received a heavily redacted police report, CCTV footage – which does not appear to show her damaging the car – and an estimate for vehicle repairs listing work to the rear bumper, rather than the left tail-light, as per the original accusation.

A subsequent internal investigation by the police after Puliyska lodged a formal complaint cleared the officer of any wrongdoing.

She believes her “horrific” experience was part of a “scheme” to force her to pay for damages for which she was not responsible and said the experience has soured her family’s impression of Malta.

She contacted Times of Malta to highlight her experience, stressing she was “terrified this whole scheme can happen to another tourist... I cannot leave this injustice unpunished”.

I cannot leave this injustice unpunished

The police said Puliyska was searched “in line with established well-being of detainees protocols” and that the redacted report was “in line with data protection regulations”.

Following the police officer’s complaint, “upon investigation, and after reviewing different CCTV footages, the police executed an arrest warrant issued by a magistrate,” the police said.

“The individual was granted access to legal counsel ‒ both legal aid and, later, a private lawyer. Following consultation with her legal representatives, she opted to settle the matter and paid for the damages,” the police said.

“Following the complainant’s return to her country, a formal complaint was submitted... The matter was thoroughly investigated and none of the allegations made were confirmed.”

Times of Malta is not naming the police officer at the request of Puliyska’s family.

Pressure

Describing the night of her arrest, Puliyska said she was “shocked that such measures were taken as we presumed that the matter was closed”. She denied damaging the vehicle and contested CCTV footage of the alleged incident during questioning by the police, after which she had been allowed to return home.

CCTV footage provided to the couple after they left the country, and also shown to Times of Malta, does not appear to feature the alleged damage or Puliyska at the back of the vehicle. The couple said they were shown different footage while being questioned by the police, which was not provided to them later.

“I was driven to Floriana police headquarters where I was asked to totally undress and I was stripped and searched... I asked for a lawyer and they said to me that it is better to speak in the morning.”

She said she was advised to plead guilty to the charges by her legal aid lawyer the next morning in a bid to avoid lengthy proceeding, but she refused: “I said that I cannot plead guilty as I am not.”

The Bulgarian-Greek teacher agreed to sign a waiver and pay for the officer’s vehicle repairs, which later turned out to include work on the bumper, not the tail-light as in the original complaint.

Later that day, Puliyska was transferred to the Paola police station, where she described being pressured to plead guilty.

“They put pressure on me... that if I wanted to be with my family, I should plead guilty,” she said. Later, she was offered to pay for the damages and sign the waiver in return for the police dropping the case.

“At that point, that was everything I wanted. My husband came, paid the full amount of the waiver and I was set free.”

Repairs

In the complaint to the police, Puliyska’s lawyers said it was “crucial to point out” that the estimate for the repairs supplied to the couple afterwards were in respect to the vehicle’s rear bumper, “in clear contradiction with her [the police officer’s] allegation that damages were caused to the left rear tail-light”.

Puliyska was provided with a heavily redacted police report after being asked to return an earlier, less redacted report, according to a complaint filed with the police.

They also highlighted that a copy of the police report, “redacted but containing the alleged victim’s version of events” initially provided to Puliyska, had been returned at the police’s request “and a second report was furnished to her, which was completely redacted”.

Reflecting on her “unfair” experience, Puliyska said: “There are bad people everywhere but I didn’t expect this to happen to me... I am really terrified that this whole scheme can happen to another tourist. I am a mother of three children and a teacher and I cannot leave this injustice unpunished.”