Updated 6.30pm with police response

A man has been left shaken after an unknown person came at him with a knuckle duster after a minor collision in a road rage incident captured on camera. 

The Austrian national told Times of Malta that the incident was further compounded by what he feels was poor treatment by the police, whom he says dismissed him when he tried to file a report. 

The footage captured by the man shows the aggressor getting violent, before removing the knuckle duster and repeatedly hitting out at him and making violent threats. 

The incident happened around 6.30pm on Monday while the man was driving back home after work and was stuck in the afternoon traffic.

“I’ve been living in Malta for three years now, and this never happened to me before,” he told Times of Malta on Wednesday. 

“I’m so disappointed by the police system. This man could be a danger to others, and I felt they did not make the effort to help me.”

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, explained how he was aware the driver behind him, in a white van, was getting irritated because he was driving slowly.

He said while he was changing lanes, the white van overtook his car, and in the process, nearly hit him.

“At that point, I honked my horn at him, and that is when the man jumped out of his car and started to shout at me,” he said. 

The man tried to continue driving, but the aggressor punched his car and left a dent in it.

That is when he got out of his car to take a picture of the driver’s number plate, and the situation went from bad to worse. 

He said the aggressor started to shout at him and his friend in the middle of the road and managed to hit him on the arm. Trying to keep his distance, he tried to kick the aggressor away.

In the footage, the aggressor can be seen wearing a knuckle duster, which he removes before he hits the man. The aggressor can be heard swearing at the man and saying, “I will find you” and “I will call the police on you” as he once again hits the man’s phone. 

After the aggressor got back in his van, the man and his friend called the emergency number, but he said no one picked up.

'The police did not help me at all'

He said he called the Żejtun police station and was told no police cars were available, and he would have to come to the station to file a report.

He then drove to the Paola police station and claimed the police were unhelpful. 

“They told me, ‘If I really want to make a police report, I can go ahead’. Go ahead? What is this system,” the man questioned.

He said he provided police with sufficient evidence to take action, but the police said he would need to get a medical report to show that he was hit by the man, and then come back to file a police report.

“The police did not show that they would take any action. If the same accident happened in Vienna and I showed the police the video, they would try and find him. I was so disappointed and I began to argue with them how they could not take any action.”

The man decided to not file a police report, as he felt he would find no support or help from the police if he did so.

"Is it because I am a foreigner? I am disappointed because now I must deal with the damage to my car and my cracked mobile screen, which broke after the man hit it."

A police spokesperson later told Times of Malta the officer at Paola police station had requested the man be medically examined and attain a medical certificate from the nearby health centre. 

"Unfortunately the alleged victim never came back with the requested medical certificate and instead chose to report the incident to the media," he said. 

He said they would like to contact the man to "proceed with investigations in relation to the alleged bodily harm and also follow-up on the allegations made against the police officers".