A man who confessed to the murder of a police officer during a bank robbery in Qormi three years ago was yesterday jailed for life by a judge who described him as "a serious threat to society".

Andy Calleja, 23, of Zabbar had also been charged with the theft of a car and with the hold-up together with Mario Borg, 35, of Zebbug, Ian Galdes, 22, of Qormi, and Mark George Falzon, 26 of Hamrun. Borg and Galdes were sentenced to seven years in jail and Falzon to five.

The sentences were handed down by Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono presiding over the Criminal Court.

According to the bill of indictment, Calleja fired the first shot at Roger Debattista, a police constable who was carrying out extra guard duties at the Bank of Valletta branch at Qormi which was the target of the hold-up on November 12, 2001.

Debattista was wounded, but not fatally. Calleja then took aim and shot Debattista on the right hand side of his stomach. None of Calleja's fellow accused had tried to stop him from killing the police officer.

In its judgment the court noted that all four accused had pleaded guilty to the charges brought against them.

The court heard submissions made by Calleja's lawyer for a mitigation of the prison sentence. Calleja submitted that he had admitted his guilt from the very start and that he had a drug problem. He also submitted that he had had a bad upbringing and that he was sorry for his actions.

Borg, Falzon and Galdes all submitted that they had drug problems by way of mitigation.

However, the Criminal Court noted that it found unacceptable the argument that persons who abused of drugs, which was in itself a serious breach of the law, ought to benefit from more lenient treatment than other delinquents who were not drug addicts. The fact that a person was a drug abuser could not serve as mitigation for a crime.

Calleja had not admitted his guilt from the start but had delayed his plea of guilt until the final moment. Furthermore, the murder victim was a police officer and Calleja's criminal record indicated clearly that he was a serious threat to society. The protection of the public rendered it necessary that a long sentence be imposed on Calleja.

Mr Justice Galea Debono declared that the maximum prison term, namely life imprisonment, was indicated in Calleja's case. The court could not ignore the fact that after wounding PC Debattista, Calleja had shot him again at closer range.

In the case of the other three men, the court declared that they had admitted to participate in a hold-up. This was a crime that was becoming ever more common and was creating alarm among the public. It was therefore necessary for such a crime to be strongly repressed.

Borg and Galdes, both of whom had criminal records, were sentenced to seven years imprisonment each. Falzon was sentenced to five years imprisonment.

The court ordered that the time the latter three accused spent in preventive custody be deducted from their prison sentences.

After Mr Justice Galea Debono had read out his 22-page judgment, which took 45 minutes, and re-entered his chambers, there was an uproar in the court room as relatives of the victim heckled and hurled abuse at the convicted criminals and, in particular, Calleja.

The strong police presence, including prison guards, brought the situation under control within a few minutes. About a dozen relatives of the victim were rounded up and were later brought individually before the judge and were severely warned that such action could have led to their being imprisoned for contempt.

They apologised for their misbehaviour.

PC Debattista was the seventh police officer to be murdered since the establishment of the Police Force in 1814, according to police and crime historian Eddie Attard. Two of the murders remained unsolved.

It was the second time in such cases the court gave the maximum sentence, the first being the death sentence in June 1860, he said.

Mr Attard said that although police murders were common worldwide, the way PC Debattista was killed was "very rare". Normally, policemen were not killed before the crime was committed but when the criminals were trying to escape from them.

"It is clear that the court understood that a police murder is a crime against society and the judge seemed to want to convey this message, which will be welcomed by those who hold the country's law and order at heart and, naturally, by the members of the police corps who would have expected a sentence of the sort," Mr Attard, himself a former police officer, said.