Prime Minister Robert Abela has questioned whether the judiciary is applying sentences that reflect the gravity of the outcomes of traffic accidents. 

Abela was asked at the end of a Cabinet meeting on Thursday whether victims who suffer a permanent disability are getting sufficient justice in courts when perpetrators get off with light sentences. 

He noted that the scope of both the criminal code and traffic regulating codes have wide parameters for interpretation that include imposing effective prison sentences. However, it is up to the judiciary to decide whether to apply them.

“In incidents that lead to a victim of a traffic accident suffering a permanent disability, the court is also able to hand down effective prison sentences. My question is, is our judiciary imposing sentences that reflect the gravity of the offence? Is the jurisprudence of many years ago, which allows a perpetrator to leave with a slap on the wrist, still valid? Or should our courts consider upping the penalty?” he said. 

Abela added that this is not a case of the country lacking the legislation to tackle such crime but rather the discretion of judges and magistrates, who must consider all the circumstances of a case before meting out punishment. 

“I believe that if applied as they should be, the penalties are sufficient,” he said. 

Times of Malta last week reported on the story of Moira Cauchi, who was left permanently disabled after Renald Aquilina hit her with his car while she was crossing the street on a zebra crossing seven years ago. 

Cauchi suffered from a broken spine, jaw and collarbone and her knees were crushed. The incident also caused her a brain diffusion injury, which impacted her speech and memory.

According to the traffic regulation ordnance, the offence of dangerous driving carries a maximum prison sentence of one year. 

Last month, Magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace handed Aquilina a three-year driving ban and a suspended sentence, much to the frustration of the Cauchi family. 

In reaction to the Cauchis’ ordeal, Justice Minister Jonathan Attard said on Monday that the government is doing all it can to ensure the law allows harsher penalties for dangerous driving but it is still up to the judiciary to apply appropriate penalties.

No efficient tools for drug testing

Asked if he thinks Malta has a drug driving problem after the second incident of the year claimed the lives of two people this week, Abela said that maintaining security on the road is one of the government’s top priorities and that he has discussed this issue on several occasions with groups that represent insurance brokers. 

“While there are methods for roadside testing for alcohol use we do not have the same facilities when it comes to testing for drug use,” he said. 

“In our strategy for enhancing road security, this is one of the points that we have to explore in more detail.”

This week, 41-year-old Karl Vella Petroni was charged with the involuntary homicide of Faizan Muhammad and Ali Abbas when his car rammed into their motorbike. 

Police testified that an officer on the scene had smelled alcohol on Vella Petroni’s breath at the time and it later resulted that he was under the influence of drugs. 

Statistics published earlier this week show that the number of traffic accidents in the first three months of this year increased by 6.3% on the same period last year, while road casualties were up by 13.3%.