A court has ordered Justice Minister Owen Bonnici to pay €66,667 in damages to a man he had injured in a car crash in Santa Venera five years ago.

In a ruling, Judge Lawrence Mintoff ruled in favour of Alies Abdulhadi, who demanded compensation from the minister, warning that he had sustained a 12% disability as a result of the accident.

In a statement, Bonnici confirmed that he is fully insured and that the damages will be paid by his insurance firm.

The incident occurred in April 2014 outside the Santa Venera tunnels at around 9pm. After driving out of one of the tunnels, Bonnici crashed into Abdulhadi’s car, which was parked near the pavement after breaking down. Abdulhadi testified that his hazard lights were switched on, but Bonnici insisted that this was not the case.

Abdulhadi was hit by Bonnici’s moving car while checking out his car’s engine with his brother, who had arrived on site to lend a helping hand. He was pushed forward, thrown into the air and broke his leg after it landed between his car and his brother’s van, which was parked in front of it.

However, Bonnici was acquitted of negligent driving shortly afterwards, with a court ruling there was not enough evidence to prove the charges.

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]