Man fined for attacking plainclothes policemen

A 23-year-old man from St. Paul’s Bay has been fined after he admitted to attacking two policemen at a St. Julian’s bar.

Inspector Daryl Borg charged Christian Zammit with threatening public officers during the execution of their duties, violently resisting arrest, disobeying legitimate police orders and attacking the officers. He was also charged with breaching the peace.

The court had heard how, whilst he was drinking at a bar in September 2013, Zammit, who was intoxicated at the time, tripped and fell on to a table, spilling the drinks which were on it.

A fight broke out and two plainclothes policemen who happened to be in the bar at the time intervened to calm the situation. However, Zammit then proceeded to assault the officers and was arrested. He continued to protest loudly whilst he was in the police van.

Zammit pleaded guilty to all charges.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera gave him the customary solemn warning of the consequences of such an admission and allowed him time to reconsider, but he persisted in his guilty plea.

The court noted that aside from a conviction for involuntary homicide in 2010, for which he had received a two-year probation order, he had a "relatively clean" criminal record and fined him €500.

Lawyer Lucio Sciriha appeared for Zammit.