Truck owner fined €2,400 on appeal

The Court of Appeal overturned a previous judgment and convicted a truck owner of allowing his brother to drive an unlicensed and uninsured vehicle, converting a paltry €50 fine from the first court into €2,400.

On 17 April last year, 47-year-old John Bugeja was convicted of not renewing the road license of his Leyland truck, but acquitted of allowing his brother to use a vehicle which he knew was unlicensed and uninsured. The man was fined €50, but the Attorney General appealed judgment.

The case goes back to November 2011, when John Bugeja’s brother William Bugeja was apprehended driving the truck uncovered by an insurance policy, and witout its road license renewed. As the truck’s owner, Bugeja was charged in court. He told investigators that the truck was not insured due to an oversight from his end, and that his brother was indeed allowed to drive the vehicle, which was unlicensed and uninsured.

A Court of Appeal presided by Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi gave weight to the statement released by the accused during the course of the investigations, which statements were not taken into consideration by the previous court. Noting that the accused was aware that the truck was unlicensed and uninsured, yet still allowed someone to make use of the vehicle, the court overturned the previous judgment and fined Bugeja €2,400.

The court did not uphold the request of the AG to suspend Bugeja’s driving license, saying this would lead to the termination of his employment.

Inspector Maria Stella Cutajar prosecuted.