A motorist who stands accused of killing two motorcycle riders when he crashed the car he was driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, has been granted bail but prohibited from driving while his court case is ongoing.

Karl Vella Petroni, 41, had immediately identified himself to a police officer following the crash on Triq iz-Zejfa, Mosta on May 6. He had been driving a Smart car which ended up on the wrong side of the road.

Eyewitnesses later testified that they had seen the vehicle veer to the wrong lane at around 5.50am, crashing into a small Yamaha Crypton motorcycle. The crash killed Faizan Muhammed and Ali Abbas, two Pakistani workers who were heading out to work.

Vella Petroni was subsequently charged with involuntary homicide, driving under the influence and in breach of traffic laws.

He is pleading not guilty.

A first request for bail upon his arraignment on May 8 was rejected after the prosecution objected on the grounds that civilian witnesses were still to testify.

When his case began before a Magistrates’ Court, the accused was placed under a temporary supervision order.

His lawyers filed another request for bail, but the Attorney General again objected, citing fear that Vella Petroni might commit other offences if released from preventive arrest since this was not the first time that he had been found drink driving. His criminal record did not bode well, argued the AG. If the court were to grant bail, it was to impose stringent conditions.

On June 2, during another hearing at the compilation of evidence, presiding Magistrate Marse-Ann Farrugia again turned down the request, without citing any specific reason.

The records were then referred to the AG’s office.

Meanwhile, the defence filed a fresh report for bail before the Criminal Court, stressing that the accused was still presumed innocent.

When delivering its decision Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera observed that the Attorney General could not be inconsistent in the objections to bail.

All the prosecution’s important civilian witnesses had testified. The offences with which the accused was charged were serious but they would remain so until final judgment. Vella Petroni’s criminal record was unruly, but that would not change either.

Those factors alone were not sufficient to justify the court’s denial of bail, observed the judge, who had heard the testimony of the psychiatrist of the Corradino Correctional Facility as well as the accused’s father.

The psychiatrist had examined Vella Petroni on May 17, pronouncing him normal. The accused was not anxious. He acted and spoke normally and exhibited no psychotic features. In fact, he needed no medical treatment and even his sleeping tablets were stopped.

The court observed that the accused had no mental health problems.

Vella Petroni’s father testified that he was willing to step in as third-party guarantor and offer his son a residence.

In light of all this, the court upheld the request for bail against a deposit and a personal guarantee of €10,000 each, under a curfew between 9pm and 7am and daily signing of the bail book.

Weekly urine samples 

In terms of a temporary supervision order he is to give urine samples twice a week and if he once tests positive, that would be taken as a breach of bail conditions.

Moreover, he cannot drive any car or motorcycle while the criminal proceedings are ongoing.

Both the accused and his father were required to sign the bail decree.

By asking the father to sign the court said it wanted to make sure that he would do his utmost to ensure that his son would abide by all conditions.

Lawyers Charles Mercieca and Gianluca Caruana Curran are defence counsel.

Correction, July 21, 2023: An earlier version of this article erroneously said that urine samples were to be provided twice daily.