A woman was remanded in custody on Tuesday after police told a court that she was found driving without a licence and insurance cover, half an hour past a court-imposed curfew.

Miyem Milal Ali, 21, was charged with knowingly breaching conditions for bail handed down by a Magistrates’ Court in separate proceedings last July.

She was also charged with driving without a licence and insurance cover as well as driving the vehicle without its owner’s consent and then supplying false details to the police.

Inspector Gabriel Kitcher said the woman was flagged down at Triq il-Kunvent, Zabbar at around 10:30pm last Sunday. She however drove on for some distance before stopping.  

An officer recognized the driver as a woman who signed the bail book at the Zabbar police station.

His suspicion was confirmed when that bail book was checked, indicating that one of the conditions was a curfew between 10pm and 6am.

The police then asked the driver for her ID card details to check whether she had valid driving documents.

It turned out that she was driving someone else’s car without a licence and insurance cover and that the details she provided belonged to her passenger.

Ali was arrested, read her legal rights and escorted to the lock up.

Upon arraignment she pleaded not guilty and her lawyer requested bail, arguing that that was a “sacrosanct right” and that the accused had not attempted to tamper with evidence.

Moreover she had a four-year-old child who depended on her and if she risked losing her job, she would face repercussions.

However the prosecution objected to bail, highlighting the fact that not only was the accused caught outside beyond curfew hours but she was driving another person’s vehicle without valid documents to boot.

And knowing that she was in the wrong, she supplied wrong information to the police.

Ali was not seriously trying to reform herself and was untrustworthy, Kitcher argued.

Magistrate Astrid May Grima turned down the request for bail, saying that the accused did not offer the necessary guarantees that she would abide by court conditions.

Inspector Gabriel Kitcher prosecuted. Lawyer Brandon Muscat was defence counsel.