Motorist driving without insurance, expired licence found to be residing illegally in Malta
Accused was driving without insurance and an expired licence, as well as driving without the car owner’s permission
A motorist who was found to be driving without insurance and with an expired licence, and later found to be residing in Malta illegally, has been handed a suspended imprisonment sentence.
Tile layer Ahmad Aldzhafar Sauah, 23 from Syria, residing at Hamrun was arraigned under arrest, charged with driving without neither insurance nor a licence, as well as with driving a car without its owner’s permission.
Inspector Kurt Farrugia told magistrate Giannella Caruana Busuttil that the man had been arrested yesterday after his vehicle was stopped at a roadblock in Marsaskala manned by Transport Malta officials and police officers.
The defendant, who was driving, was found to have an expired driving licence and no insurance policy. Further investigations revealed the man to be residing in Malta illegally, without a residence permit, and having no return ticket.
The defendant, who holds a Bulgarian passport, pleaded guilty to the charges, confirming his admission after being given time to reconsider.
Inspector Farrugia suggested a six-month prison sentence, suspended for a year, asking that the court also disqualify the man from driving and impose a fine.
Lawyer Ingrid Zammit Young, assisting the defendant as legal aid counsel, explained that the defendant had obtained an international driving licence, valid for 12 months, and had been unaware that it had expired.
The defence agreed with the suspended sentence but objected to the driving disqualification, arguing that it was unnecessary as his driver’s licence was already invalid.
The court, declaring the man to be guilty on his own admission, sentenced him to imprisonment for six months, which it suspended for one year. He was also disqualified from holding a driver’s licence for 13 months.
The man gave notice of appeal, but waived his right to suspend the execution of his sentence in the meantime.
Inspector Farrugia was granted permission by the court to withdraw the man’s passport from the acts of the case in order to avoid delaying deportation proceedings.
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