[WATCH] Prime Minister questions whether court judgments are reflecting gravity of road accidents

Robert Abela has questioned whether the judiciary is applying punishments that reflect the gravity of road accidents that would have caused severe disability to the victim.

The Prime Minister said the Criminal Code already contemplated prison terms for road accident perpetrators who cause a fatality or grievous bodily harm to the victim.

“Magistrates have the discretion to either hand down effective prison terms or suspended sentences and the government will not interfere with that. The question everybody should be asking is whether the decisions being handed down are reflecting the gravity of the injuries caused to the victim,” Abela said on Thursday after a special Cabinet meeting at Fairs and Convention Centre in Ta’ Qali.

He was replying to questions by MaltaToday on the latest controversy involving a court judgment that was deemed lenient by many given the severe permanent injuries suffered by the victim.

Magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace handed down a suspended jail term in a recent judgment.

The case was against a man who mowed down a woman on a zebra crossing while driving at more than 100km/h on the Gżira front. The woman was left with a permanent disability that upturned her life.

According to the law, the man could have been jailed for a maximum of one year but the magistrate chose to hand down a suspended sentence instead of an effective jail term because of the driver’s young age.

Figures released by the National Statistics Office this week showed that there was an increase of 6% in traffic accidents in the first quarter of this year, resulting in an increase of 13% in injuries.

Abela insisted safety and security on Malta’s roads was a government priority, which is why fines for several traffic infringements were increased.

“We increased the fines for contraventions to raise awareness on the dangers of using a car irresponsibly,” the Prime Minister said.

He added that with the appointment of a new CEO at Transport Malta, the authority would continue to emphasise enforcement.