CCTV footage shows rape accusations of a woman to be false

A 21-year-old woman from Zabbar has been charged with falsely accusing a bus driver of rape.

Magistrate Neville Camilleri heard that police inspectors Joseph Busuttil and Christabelle Chetcuti had received a report from the accused that she had been raped by a bus driver on 14 November.

However, CCTV footage on the bus documented the early morning encounter and according the police it showed that the act was “clearly consensual”.

The young woman, who is represented by lawyer Giannella de Marco, entered a not guilty plea to the charges of falsely accusing a person she knew to be innocent, judicial perjury and fabrication of evidence.

The accused was granted bail against a deposit of €1,500 and a personal guarantee of €10,000.

The name of the accused cannot be published by court order.

MPT statement

Malta Public Transport said in a statement it was requested by the police to provide CCTV footage from on board one of its buses on Monday 14 November 2016.

“Without going into the merits of the case, concurrent and immediate internal investigations concluded that gross misconduct occurred on the company’s staff bus which was not operating a public transport service, and the employee in question was suspended with immediate effect that same day. Disciplinary proceedings are currently underway.”