A man wanted by the police to answer questions about an alleged crime entered a police station, filed a report and was allowed back out without being questioned, a court heard on Monday.
Clayton Galea, a 38-year old bar owner from Fgura, stands accused of knocking down his ex-girlfriend’s new partner, outside the Żejtun house where his ex lives with the couple's son.
He pleaded not guilty to charges and was remanded in custody.
A court heard that Żejtun police were unable to locate or contact Galea – despite Galea having filed a police report at that same police station days after the alleged incident with his ex’s new partner.
In the report, Galea alleged that his ex was refusing to grant him access to his son.
When he then visited Paola police station the following day to sign a bail book in relation to a separate case, police officers there told him that Żejtun police were looking for him.
Galea went to the Zejtun police station, at which point officers mentioned Monday’s incident and arrested him.
Defence lawyer Arthur Azzopardi strongly contested the validity of that arrest, given that it took place without a magisterial warrant.
Prosecuting Inspector Janetta Grixti insisted that there had been no need to request an arrest warrant, explaining further that she had subsequently filed a note before the duty magistrate to validate the arrest once the man had been detained.
After hearing lengthy submissions on this point and after consulting the relative provisions of the Criminal Code, presiding magistrate Nadine Lia declared that the arrest was valid.
She cited article 355AD, which deals with the voluntary attendance of a suspect at the police station or office.
The man pleaded not guilty to grievous bodily harm, driving his BMW X6 in a reckless and dangerous manner and breaching previous bail conditions
A request for bail was objected to particularly because civilian witnesses, including the accused’s former girlfriend and her new partner, were still to testify and thus in view of the fear of tampering with evidence.
Galea’s defence countered that the man had obeyed police orders when told to go from the Paola to the Zejtun police station and regularly travelled abroad under court authorization while under bail in separate proceedings.
Although the police had been on the lookout for him for almost a week, no fixed point was placed outside his home, argued Azzopardi.
Lawyer Leontine Calleja who appeared on behalf of the alleged victim provided details of the alleged incident, explaining that the woman’s new partner had suffered fractures after being run over by the accused’s car.
He was still in and out of hospital because of medical complications as a result of his injuries, the court was told.
“They are living in fear…they don’t want him to approach them,” went on Calleja, explaining that that was the reason why the woman had feared allowing her ex access to their child.
After hearing submissions by both parties the court deemed submissions by the prosecution and the parte civile lawyer as valid and in view of the real fear of tampering with evidence, turned down the request for bail.
The court urged the prosecution to summon civilian witnesses, including the alleged victim, at the first sitting.
Lawyers Azzopardi and Charmaine Cherrett were defence counsel.