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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 18 JANUARY 2017 News 6 Motorist to pay woman bus driver €19,000 for violent assault MATTHEW AGIUS A 32-year-old motorist who punched a woman bus driver for overtaking him in 2012, leaving her permanently disabled, has been condemned to pay over €19,000 in damages. Road rage victim Rita Carmen Bonavia had been alone in her Arriva bus in Triq Sant'Andrija, Swieqi, heading towards Pem- broke, on 3 August, 2012, having just dropped off all her passen- gers when a refrigerated truck overtook her and blocked the road ahead. The driver, who was later iden- tified as Christian Zarb, then got out of his vehicle and walked over to Bonavia's window, accus- ing her of overtaking him twice. The bus driver had asked wheth- er she had caused him any dam- age and instead of answering, Zarb had reached in through her window and punched her on the shoulder. Bonavia testified to having warned her assailant not to touch her, but he had ignored this and grabbed her again. The bus driver had quickly closed the window but the man continued to bang his hands on it, "scream- ing and shouting." She had pressed the bus's panic button when Zarb had walked around the other side of the bus and started hitting the door. At that point the man took off his trousers telling her that "this was what she needed," laughed, and drove away. Zarb had been handed a six- month sentence suspended for two years as a result of a court- room admission. He was also ordered not to harass the woman for one year or face a €1,000 fine. In a separate case for civil dam- ages arising from this crime, Mr Justice Lawrence Mintoff noted that a medical examination by a court expert had assessed the woman as having suffered an 8% permanent disability as a result of the blow to her shoulder and that she had been unable to work for two years. The court found Zarb liable for civil damages amounting to €19,362, computing the dam- ages suffered through loss of earnings at €18,812.65 and the damages caused directly by the incident at €549.54. Road rage victim Rita Carmen Bonavia had been alone in her Arriva bus at the time of the assault Crane operator handed €5,000 fine for dropping workmen whilst on the phone MATTHEW AGIUS A crane operator has been con- victed of negligently causing de- bilitating injuries to two workers, who were dropped in a cage from a height of over two storeys whilst he had been on the phone. Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera found 42-year-old Jason Zammit criminally liable for the February 2006 incident which had occurred in Naxxar road, San Gwann, as the two workmen had been putting up a billboard. 34-year-old Ronnie Spiteri had spent seven weeks in hospital af- ter suffering two broken legs and a fractured pelvis and losing all nerve connection to his legs as a result of the fall, while 39-year-old Stephen Azzopardi's right arm had been so badly mangled that an on- looker had held his arm in place to keep him from losing it. Azzopardi also suffered a pelvic fracture. Both men underwent several sur- gical operations as a result. The police had established that Zammit had been operating the crane at the time of the accident. Witnesses had told the court that several safety measures had been ignored or omitted, including a safety latch, intended to prevent the hook from which the cage was suspended from disengaging from the crane. A witness had testified to see- ing Zammit talking on his mobile phone as he extended the crane's jib without adding length to ca- ble from which the cage had been suspended by a hook. This had re- sulted in the hook hitting the jib, turning and releasing the cage. Zammit had made no mention of being on the phone when he testi- fied in his defence. The court noted that apart from using the mobile phone while op- erating the crane, Zammit had also failed to ensure that the necessary safety equipment was used and did not ensure that the victims were wearing safety harnesses. Finding the crane operator guilty of negligence, failing to observe health and safety laws, and noting that he had several previous con- victions for aggravated theft, caus- ing slight injury, and uttering in- sults and threats as well as having been jailed in the past, the court imposed a fine of €5,000. The owners of Roc-a-Go are the subject of separate criminal pro- ceedings. David Thake would support Mallia censure CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 But he had joined the PN because it allowed him to follow his con- science and the Maltese flag; those were the so-called 'con- ditions' that he and the party leadership had discussed before his candidacy was announced, he said. "Once Simon Busuttil and the party stop following their con- science and the national flag, they will no longer find me there with them." When asked what he thought he was bringing to the party and what kind of voter he hoped to attract, Mallia was clear. "I am attracting all good- thinking people, honest peo- ple," he said. Most other candidates who chose to answer our questions would not commit themselves on Mallia's style and language, although some did say they did not personally approve of his choice of words on occasion. Former Radio 101 people's fa- vourite, David Thake, was the only candidate to answer di- rectly when MaltaToday asked if he felt the party should cen- sure Mallia for his language and style. "I believe, in political issues, the party has the right to ensure that a candidate is in line with the levels expected of everyone within the party," he said. But, Thake stressed, Mallia had a lot to offer – not only to the PN in particular – but the country in general. David Thake