Scissors Taxi Mug: Żejtun Woman Granted Bail as Malta Cab Safety Fears Spike

**Woman Accused of Scissors Mugging of Taxi Driver Granted Bail, Sparking Debate Over Safety of Malta’s Cab Industry**

A 28-year-old woman from Żejtun has been granted bail after allegedly holding up a taxi driver with a pair of scissors in the early hours of last Saturday morning, in an incident that has reignited concerns over the safety of Malta’s beleaguered cab industry.

The accused, who cannot be named by court order, appeared before Magistrate Marse-Ann Farrugia on Monday, charged with aggravated theft, carrying a sharp instrument without lawful excuse, and causing slight bodily harm to a 54-year-old driver from Siġġiewi. Prosecutors told the court that the woman had flagged down the white Peugeot Partner on Triq ix-Xatt in Gżira at 3:15 am, asking to be taken to Żejtun. Mid-journey, she allegedly produced a 20-cm pair of kitchen scissors, pressed them to the driver’s neck and demanded “kollok fuqek” – everything he had on him.

The driver, who has 14 years’ experience on the road, suffered a superficial cut to his left ear but managed to stop the car near Marsa and wrestle the weapon away, according to police. The woman fled on foot towards the abandoned Corinthia Hotel site and was arrested two hours later after a search involving district officers and the Rapid Intervention Unit. €43 in cash and the driver’s Android phone were recovered.

Defence lawyer Charmaine Cherrett entered a not-guilty plea, arguing that her client had been “in the throes of a psychotic episode” triggered by days of sleeplessness and undisclosed medication. The court released the woman against a €5,000 personal guarantee and a €10,000 third-party guarantee, ordering her to sign at the Żejtun police station three times a week, observe a 9 pm–6 am curfew and stay away from taxi stands.

Outside the courtroom, the driver – who gave his name only as “Robert” – told *Hot Malta* he was “shaken but lucky”. “I’ve driven tourists, stag parties, even drunk teenagers, but I never thought I’d see Maltese steel at my throat,” he said, still wearing the faded green polo shirt of the private company he leases the cab from. “We need partitions, like in New York, or at least dash-cams that actually work.”

The incident has reopened a long-simmering debate about the fragmented state of Malta’s taxi sector. While white taxis licensed by Transport Malta cruise for hailed fares, a mushrooming army of private-lease vehicles – often older models with no divider between front and back – pick up pre-booked jobs via Facebook groups and WhatsApp. These cars are cheaper, but critics say they operate in a regulatory grey zone that leaves drivers uninsured for assault and passengers unsure who is behind the wheel.

“Drivers are sitting ducks,” warned Claudette Pace, president of the Taxi Drivers Association. “We asked for protective film, panic buttons, compulsory CCTV – we got another consultation paper.” Pace revealed that six drivers have reported weapon-related threats since January, though only two reached the courts. “Tourism is our bread and butter. If visitors read that a cab ride could end in scissors, they’ll hop on Bolt and never look back.”

Gżira mayor Conrad Borg Manché weighed in on Facebook, calling the mugging “a wake-up call” for better street lighting along the Gżira–Mpsa waterfront, a stretch popular with late-night commuters but plagued by dark patches after 2 am when many lamps are deliberately switched off to curb energy bills. “We want our nightlife economy,” Borg Manché wrote, “but not at the expense of anyone’s safety.”

For residents, the episode is another blot on Żejtun’s copybook. The south-eastern town, famed for its Holy Week processions and olive groves, has struggled with pockets of heroin use since the 1990s. “We’re tired of seeing our hometown in the crime pages,” said 66-year-old Marlene Spiteri outside the parish church. “We need more social workers, not more court dates.”

Meanwhile, the accused’s family declined to speak to reporters, but neighbours described her as a “quiet girl” who had recently lost a warehouse job. Court sources say she has no prior convictions, though police once filed a mental-health referral in 2021.

As the legal process grinds on, drivers like Robert are left counting the cost. “I love this job – the stories you hear, the sunrise over Valletta,” he said, turning the ignition. “But from tonight I’m keeping a wrench under the seat. That’s not the Malta I want to drive in.”