A cab driver on Thursday admitted in court to having made sexual advances on a tourist who had just arrived in Malta, and apologised for his actions. 

The incident happened on Saturday evening when the woman got a cab from the airport to Sliema.

The court was told that the driver, Ahmed Hassan Moustafa Moussa Ebid, a 44-year-old Egyptian, started off with comments that immediately made the woman feel uneasy. He then placed his hand on her lap. 

She pushed it away, telling him to stop. But the driver persisted, going even further and touching her private parts. 

The woman told him to stop "a thousand times" while secretly filming his actions on her phone, police inspector Roxanne Tabone told the court.  

She later showed the footage to police when filing a report.

Police contacted the cab company to track down the suspect, who admitted his guilt and confirmed it upon arraignment.   

His legal aid lawyer pointed out that he was a first-time offender, had been working in Malta for quite some time and apologised for his criminal wrongdoing. 

The accused was granted bail pending judgment against a deposit of €500, a personal guarantee of €500, daily signing of the bail book and a warning not to approach the victim.

The court also issued a protection order in favour of the woman and a ban on publication of her name. 

AG lawyer Jurgen Dalli and inspector Roxanne Tabone prosecuted. Lawyer Thomas Barbara Sant was legal aid counsel. Lawyers Rene Darmanin and Alfred Abela are parte civile.