Bail for four who beat up iGaming colleague over €250 loan
'If you call the police, I'll kill you': alleged victim said his colleagues beat him up at home
Four men have been granted bail after being charged with beating up a colleague over a €250 loan.
Evaneglos Paplios (29), Christos Athanasios Paschalidis (30) and Spyridon Voulgarakis (30), living in Attard, alongside 33-year-old Vasileios Kontogiannis, who lives in Birkirkara, were accused of grievously injuring another man.
The quartet were arraigned in February after they allegedly went to the man’s apartment, knocked on his door, went inside and allegedly beat him up.
They deny the charges.
The alleged victim already testified in the proceedings, telling the court the accused had threatened to “kill him” and that they stole “everything” from him.
On the day of the incident, around four men came to his house with his flatmate. The flatmate knocked on his door and told him that they needed to speak. When the alleged victim opened the door, Paplios entered the room, followed by the three co-accused.
“The first words that they told me were ‘Where is the Moncler [jacket]?’” the witness recalled, stressing that he had been wearing the same clothes for two or three days, because they had stolen his clothes.
Paplios had a flick knife in his hand, which he placed close to the victim’s neck, while Kontogiannis held a fork.
“Paplios put the knife near my neck and said bad words to me,” the witness said, with some help from his interpreter. Pressed to repeat what he was told, the witness said Paplios told him: “I will f*** you”, “whore”, and “I will kill you”.
Paplios then started to punch him with his free hand, the witness recalled, adding that he crouched down and put his arms over his head. The others joined, beating him.
As Kontogiannis and Paplios assaulted him, the other two took his wallet containing Greek bank cards, his Moncler jacket bought by his ex-girlfriend worth some €500, another jacket he bought for €200 and his €300 phone.
He said they took “everything”.
He testified that he was kicked and punched “everywhere” for more than 40 times for about 10 minutes.
Earlier this week, the men were granted bail against a €10,000 deposit each and a €15,000 personal guarantee.
They were ordered to sign the bail book twice a day, among other conditions.
The Criminal Court was presided over by Madam Justice Natasha Galea Sciberras in the case of Voulgarakis and Paplios’s bail applications, while Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera presided over the Criminal Court and ruled on Paschalidis and Kontogiannis’ bail applications.
AG lawyer Nicholas DeGaetano prosecuted, assisted by police inspector Clayton Abela.
Lawyers Nicholas Mifsud, Silvan Pulis and Herman Mula appeared for the four accused, with lawyer Charles Mercieca also assisting Voulgarakis and Paplios.