Driver Over Alcohol Limit Crashes Into Salon While Waiting For Passengers
A cab driver caught drink-driving smashed into a Santa Venera hair salon earlier this month, a court heard on Monday.
Times of Malta reported that 42-year-old Abdi Salaan Mahamad Abditon Ali was found to have 107.3 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml breath, when the legal limit for cab drivers in Malta is zero. The crash happened on 7th August at Marica’s Salon on Cannon Road.
Fortunately, the salon was closed at the time and no one was injured.
Police inspector Nathan Bugeja told the court: “Thank God no one requested a cab… It could have resulted in fatalities.”
Ali, a Somali national who has been living in Malta since 2008, denies charges of negligent, dangerous and reckless driving, causing damage to third-party property, and driving under the influence.
Damage from the crash is estimated to be between €10,000 and €15,000.
During the sitting, the defence argued that Ali has been in Malta for years with no previous run-ins with the law, and that similar traffic cases are usually heard under summons rather than arrest. The prosecution countered that the incident was serious, involved third-party damages, and posed a risk to the public.
The court ultimately denied bail, noting that Ali had no local bank account to provide a €10,000 guarantee in favour of the victim.
The case continues later this month.
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