Three years jail and €4,000 fine for assaulting officials at Nadur carnival

Man found guilty of punching the two officials after being handed a fine for a traffic violation at the 2020 Nadur carnival

A 24-year-old man from Naxxar has been jailed for three years and fined €4,000 after being found guilty of assaulting two Transport Malta officials during the 2020 Nadur carnival in Gozo.

Clyde Farrugia was found guilty of punching the two officials after being handed a fine for a traffic violation.

A police sergeant had testified that whilst on duty at the Nadur carnival, he was informed of the altercation. Two Transport Malta officials had told the police that a man had gone up to them and started shouting at them because he had just received a fine.

The man had stuffed the contravention notice in his mouth, spat it out and walked away. He was spotted near the vehicle that had been fined some time earlier, and at that point the accused crept up behind them and started punching the officials in the face.

Farrugia was found guilty. In handing down his sentence, Magistrate Joe Mifsud said that it was inexcusable and unacceptable for law enforcement personnel to be assaulted on the job. Their orders were to be obeyed immediately and they must be shown respect, especially when situations get tense, the magistrate said.

Attacks on the forces of order are an attack on society as a whole, Mifsud added. They are there to protect the citizen and should not be made to feel fear whilst exercising their duties, he said.

Farrugia was jailed for three years, fined €4,000 and ordered to pay €956 in costs.

Inspector Charles Spiteri prosecuted.