Former Victoria mayor gets six-month ban for drink-driving accident

Former PN mayor Samuel Azzopardi disqualified from driving for six months and fined €2,000 for driving under the influence • PN lifts suspension and moves to bring back Azzopardi as Victoria mayor

Former mayor Samuel Azzopardi
Former mayor Samuel Azzopardi

A drink-driving accident involving the former mayor of Victoria, Gozo should be used as an example of the debilitating effects of alcohol when behind the wheel, a court has held.

Former PN mayor Samuel Azzopardi, 33, and Emanuel Grech, who is 49, had been accused of causing a car accident whilst drunk-driving in Ghajnsielem during the early hours of 17 April.

Azzopardi has retained his position as an independent councillor.

Inspector Bernard Charles Spiteri charged the two Gozitans with reckless driving, driving under the influence, causing slight injuries to each other and damaging each other's vehicles. Azzopardi alone was also charged with refusing to submit to a breathalyser test without good reason.

Azzopardi had been on his way home from a wedding reception and Grech, a chef, was driving home after work when the two vehicles collided.

Grech, who had submitted to the test and was found to be over the legal limit, faced the prospect of a possible prison term for the crime, which is punishable by a minimum fine of €1,200 or a maximum of three months imprisonment.

In two separate judgements on the matter, magistrate Joe Mifsud, presiding the court of magistrates in Gozo, highlighted the negative impact that alcohol has on driving and behaviour, saying that these effects often result in regrettable incidents.

The men had chosen not to testify in the proceedings and where it was possible, had renounced the charges against each other.

While the court found the men not guilty of dangerous driving, causing involuntary damage and slightly injuring each other, they were convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol.

In Azzopardi's case the court also added that this incident should not detract from the accused's political, cultural and social work. To the contrary, it opined that “the accused should not be ashamed [of using this incident] to warn others of the dangers of social drinking.”

In fact, following the ruling, the PN issued a statement annoucing that it had lifted Azzopardi's suspension and that it would be nominating Azzopardi as mayor of the locality.

The men were disqualified from driving for six months and fined €2,000 for driving under the influence.