Prisoner fined for attacking prison warder, faces longer sentence

Joseph Bonnett, 38 was ordered to pay a €1,000 fine and had four months added to his prison sentence, after Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera ordered heard how he had attacked the correctional officer

An inmate who threw a glass of hot water at a prison warder in 2013 has been fined and had his sentence lengthened.

Joseph Bonnett, 38 was ordered to pay a €1,000 fine and had four months added to his prison sentence, after Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera ordered heard how he had attacked the correctional officer.

The officer was attacked as he was unlocking Bonnett's cell door following an argument about Bonnett refusing to clean his cell. When the inmate failed to cooperate, the warder informed him that he needed to lock him in the cell until he could speak to his superior about the issue. As he turned to leave, Bonnett threw the contents of his mug at the officer's back.

The warder had suffered burns as a result, which a doctor had classified as superficial.

The officer explained that after the water incident, Bonnett continued to attack him and had to be restrained by the warder's colleagues.

The accused had claimed that prior to the incident, he had boiled the kettle to make some tea and insisted that the water he threw was tepid. Bonnett explained that he had lashed out, having been “frustrated” at the prison warder's actions. He alleged that the correctional officer had punched him after that, but provided no medical certificate to back up his claim.

In passing sentence, the court said that it had “no doubt that the accused's actions … were intended to cause offence and physically hurt the official, who was carrying out his duties.”

The court found him guilty of attempting to influence the actions of a public servant and slightly injuring the prison warder. He was cleared of relapsing, however, as the prosecution had not exhibited a copy of his previous sentence.