Bail For UK 19-Year-Old Charged With Attacking Cab Driver In Mellieħa
A 19-year-old British national has been released on bail after he was charged with assaulting a Bolt cab driver in Mellieħa.
Oliver Chandler Kassim was charged with assaulting and grievously injuring Joseph De Celis in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
He pleaded not guilty and his defence lawyers Giannella de Marco and Stefano Filletti requested bail, arguing that the victim’s version of events has already been widely reported and that the accused’s parents could act as guarantors.
Filetti cast doubt on the cab driver’s statement that Chandler Kassim had attacked him with a pair of brass knuckles by arguing that a police search failed to recover them as evidence.
He also challenged De Celis’ claim that the attack was unprovoked, noting that his client had a black eye and bruises to the back.
Police inspector George Frendo objected to the bail request, insisting that De Celis had been attacked for no reason whatsoever and stating that “if this doesn’t constitute a serious offence, then I don’t know what does”.
Magistrate Lara Lanfranco granted the accused bail at a deposit of €2,000 and a personal guarantee of €2,000. Bail is subject to several conditions, including an obligation to sign the bail book at the Qawra police station everyday and a protection order in favour of De Celis.
Lanfranco also ordered a medical examination of the accused’s injuries.
Malta has reacted in shock after bloody and graphic images of De Celis, spread online.
De Celis himself took to social media to explain what happened, saying he had been transporting a “blind drunk” UK teen around 4am from Valletta to Mellieħa.
De Celis said that he drove the passenger to Mellieħa, where at one point the young man removed his seatbelt and started punching him.
“It lasted for seven minutes… I still had my seatbelt on and all I could do was honk the horn for help for seven minutes as he beat me up for no reason at all.”
In comments to NET, the driver said he thought he was going to die and that he was only saved after the accused’s father drove up and physically dragged him away and into his car.
Bolt International said it is taking the incident “very seriously”.
“We are currently investigating this case further with fleet owners we regularly work with and have also activated our High Priority team,” Ryan Mahoney, CM for Bolt ridehailing, told Lovin Malta via a spokesperson.
“Bolt takes such behaviour of abuse and violence towards our drivers very seriously. We will offer our full cooperation with the police in their investigation and urge anyone with information about this incident to share it with the police,” he continued.
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