A police sergeant bitten by a dog after landing in a brawl with another driver following a bumper-to-bumper collision in Attard is also being investigated by the police, an inspector informed a court on Tuesday.
This emerged when prosecuting officer Andrew Agius Bonello was testifying in ongoing criminal proceedings against Ngeanya Evise Fombeh, a 31-year-old Cameroon national married and with stable family ties in Malta.
The minor bumper-to-bumper collision on August 18 triggered a chain of events which resulted in criminal charges against Fombeh for allegedly causing grievous injuries to the off-duty officer, who was driving his personal vehicle through the streets of Attard.
Fombeh was subsequently charged in court, pleading not guilty and was granted bail upon arraignment.
The simple collision led to a full-scale brawl between the two drivers, with the off-duty officer alleging that Fombeh had started yelling at him and behaving aggressively when he approached him.
Fombeh had collided with the rear end of the sergeant’s vehicle.
But the situation escalated when the off-duty officer asked the other driver to fill in the usual bumper-to-bumper collision form and to produce his licence, which he eventually did, producing a document that appeared rather old and worn.
As he showed that document to the other driver, Fombeh allegedly covered the image on the licence with a finger.
The off-duty officer suspected that the document was false.
Matters took a violent twist when the accused allegedly locked one arm around the other driver’s neck and the two ended up in a tussle on the ground.
That was when a dog, walking with its owner who tried to break up the scuffle, allegedly bit the off-duty officer on the hand.
“So if the victim told you from the outset that he was bitten by a dog, why did you charge the accused with causing grievous injuries,” asked defence lawyer Franco Debono, when cross examining the witness.
“There was a bite but it was not the only injury on the victim’s right hand,” replied Agius Bonello.
Asked whether a doctor had been asked to classify the injury, the inspector explained that the doctor who had certified the officer in hospital had refused to clarify which injury was caused by the dog and which was caused by a human.
Under further questioning, the witness stated that the alleged victim was also being investigated by the police over his involvement in the incident.
At that stage, Debono reserved further questions for a later stage.
As the hearing drew to a close, and before declaring whether there was sufficient prima facie evidence for Fombeh to stand trial on indictment, the court, presided over by Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo, appointed a medico-legal expert to examine the alleged victim.
The doctor was to report whether the injuries were the result of the alleged fight between the two drivers or whether they were caused by the dog that was completely unrelated to the incident.
The case continues.
Inspectors Andrew Agius Bonello and Clayton Camilleri are prosecuting. Lawyers Franco Debono and Francesca Zarb are defence counsel.