A man who had enough of his noisy neighbour and decided to confront him landed behind bars after an argument escalated to the point that he grievously injured his neighbour with “scratches and grazes”. 

Manuel Borg, a 37-year-old soldier from Safi, landed on the wrong side of the law because of the incident which took place on Sunday afternoon between 1pm and 3pm when he knocked at the door of his noisy neighbour. 

The other man, a Philippine national, later reported how a man, whose name he did not know but whom he described as a resident within the same apartment block, had attacked him. 

The victim was referred to the Paola health centre where his injuries were certified as grievous. 

Police investigating the report later tracked down the suspect whose appearance matched the description given by the injured man. 

On Tuesday, the man was escorted to court and charged with grievously injuring the alleged victim and also committing the crime which as a public officer he was duty bound to prevent. 

He pleaded not guilty. 

A request for bail was objected to in view of the nature of the offences which carried a prison term but mainly because of the fear of tampering with evidence, since both parties lived in the same block. 

However, defence lawyer Victor Bugeja, rebutted that the accused had offered an alternative address with a family relative at a different locality and was prepared to move out of his Safi home to avoid meeting the alleged victim. 

Moreover, this was a case of legitimate self-defence, went on the lawyer. 

The alleged victim had long been disturbing the whole block and when he went to confront him about the issue, the other man attacked him.

The accused was only shielding himself against the attack, argued Bugeja. 

Moreover, although the injuries were certified as grievous, they were put down as "scratch, scratch, three scratches, a graze and another graze, " pointed out the lawyer.

After hearing submissions and considering the dynamics of the incident at first glance, the court, presided over by Magistrate Kevan Azzopardi, turned down the request for bail. 

The court also turned down a request for a ban on the accused’s name. 

The Maltese court system was such that proceedings take place in open court precisely so that citizens have the faculty of following, observed the magistrate.

Ancillary to that was the other concept that proceedings are public. 

“Therefore, the rule is that the media may report without sensationalism what happens inside the courtroom and the proceedings,” went on Azzopardi, turning down the defence’s request for the name ban. 

Inspectors Kevin Pulis and Kurt Farrugia prosecuted.