Court finds nephew did not intend to hit uncle with van, despite personal feud

A man who hit his uncle while driving down a street in Mġarr in 2014 did not intend on injuring him, despite personal clashes between the two, a court found yesterday.

Joseph Bugeja, 50, from Mġarr, pleaded not guilty to having attempted to harm Martin Chetcuti, his uncle through marriage, by driving dangerously. The former was also accused of having harassed Mr Chetcuti in the months prior to the incident.

Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit heard how there had been clashes and tension between the two for a number of years.

The incident took place when Mr Bugeja allegedly tried to dismantle a boundary wall, claiming to be administering an order by MEPA. Mr Chetcuti allegedly did not approve of the dismantling of the wall.

Mr Chetcuti, upon seeing this, decided to file a police report. Shortly after taking photos of the wall to present them to MEPA, Mr Bugeja drove his truck down Triq iċ-Ċagħaw, hitting and slightly injuring Mr Chetcuti. The court was shown CCTV footage of the incident.

The court concluded that the accused did not hit his uncle intentionally.

The court said that it was “morally convinced” that the accused did not have the criminal intent to endanger the life of his uncle. The magistrate said that the accused knew the place very well and it did not make sense for the accused to commit an offence in front of the CCTV cameras, which he was aware of.

The court did take into consideration that the accused was driving negligently, taking into account the width of the street and the presence of the pedestrians at the time the incident took place.

Mr Bugeja was therefore found guilty of reckless driving and harassment, and was handed a fine of €232. His driving licence was also suspended for three months, in addition to being ordered to pay €2,442.54 in court expenses.

The victim was also issued a protection order for three years.

Inspector Edmond Cuschieri prosecuted.