Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/551192
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 5 AUGUST 2015 5 News Man accused of attacking Paceville youths said he was 'defending' police inspector A man accused, along with po- lice Inspector Jeffrey Cilia, of attacking three youths outside of Paceville four years ago said that he was only "helping the inspector" discipline the un- ruly youths. Testif ying yesterday, Chris- topher Farrugia told the court that the incident occurred in front of the InterContinental Hotel in St Julian's, and that the altercation began when Cilia, who was off-duty at the time, tried to prevent the youngsters from damaging a plant outside the hotel. Farrugia and Cilia were ac- cused of attacking the three youths – who are brothers – and Cilia remains suspended from the force pending the outcome of the case. Previous testimony revealed that former police commissioner John Rizzo had warned that Cilia's breath stank of alcohol while he was interrogating him. Farrugia's version of events is that the three youngsters at- tacked Cilia first, after he at- tempted to get them to stop causing damage to the plant. However the brothers said that the attack kicked off af- ter one of the brothers spat on the ground, and that it was the inspector and Farrugia who started the altercation. Insisting that no punches were thrown during the fight, Farru- gia said that he intervened to pull the biggest of the broth- ers away from Cilia. Speaking under cross-examination, Far- rugia said that the two friends had come to Paceville after having dinner in Zebbug, and that while they had drunk alco- hol, denied being drunk at the time. He also admitted to snatching a mobile phone away from the youths, after catching its owner taking a video of them. The phone was subsequently hand- ed over to the district police. While the two friends were not arrested during the night, Farrugia said that he was sum- monsed by the police the fol- lowing day. "In the morning I was called in by the police and ended up being charged for defending a police inspector," he said. The case continues. Superintendent Stephen Gatt is prosecuting. One year in prison for drink-driving Somali A Somali drunk driver was sen- tenced to 12 months in prison after he admitted to stealing a pick-up truck in Luqa in the early hours yes- terday morning. Apart from drink driving, Ab- dulkadir Mohamud Abdihukun, 28, was accused of the theft of the vehicle and of driving it without a licence. In addition, Abdihukun was also accused of property damage and of driving the vehicle up a one- way street. In court yesterday, it was also noted that Abdihukun was handed a probation order in June in a sepa- rate case. Abdihukun's lawyer asked that his client's drinking problem be taken into consideration. Conducting proceedings in Eng- lish for the benefit of Abdihukun, Magistrate Depasquale handed a 12-month prison sentence, while also ordering the prison authorities to help Abdihukun overcome his al- cohol dependency. Inspectors Kylie Borg and Paula Ciantar prosecuted. Man caught driving stolen vehicle A man has been arrested by the police in Haz-Zebbug after investigations revealed he was driving a stolen pick-up. According to the police's communications office a man, from Somalia, was seen driv- ing the Toyota Hilux recklessly in Mdina Road, Haz-Zebbug. Members of the Rapid Interven- tion Unit on patrol stopped the driver who had ignored a one- way traffic sign and hit a wall. The police contacted the own- er of the pick-up who said his vehicle had been stolen from Luqa. The Somali was arrested and taken to the Qormi police sta- tion for further investigation. Three brothers were allegedly beaten by Inspector Jeffrey Cilia (above) in Paceville in 2011