Drunk unlicensed driver jailed after driving boss’ car while intoxicated

An unlicensed and uninsured driver who was found to be drunk while behind the wheel of his boss’ car has been jailed and disqualified from driving.

During his arraignment before magistrate Charmaine Galea on Wednesday, 23-year-old Marsascala resident Hasan Alhani Abdula, pleaded guilty to charges of driving what was described in court as a car belonging to his employer, without a driving licence or insurance cover - or indeed the owner’s permission - while drunk.

The defendant, who did not tell the police or the court where he worked, confirmed his admission of guilt after the court warned him that he could be fined or sentenced to imprisonment for the offences, if he persisted with his plea.

Both police inspector Gabriel Kitcher, for the prosecution, and the defendant’s legal aid lawyer Ingrid Zammit Young argued that a suspended sentence was merited in the circumstances.

But the magistrate disagreed, telling the parties that in sentencing such crimes, the courts had to send a message that drunk driving was not acceptable.

Finding Abdula guilty on his own admission, the court sentenced him to imprisonment for 30 days and disqualified him from holding a licence for the next three months.