A man who got mixed up in a scuffle during carnival celebrations at the Granaries on Monday was granted bail pending judgment after admitting he had been foolish.

Faris Mahmud Harith, a 27-year old Syrian plasterer living at Cospicua, was marched to court under arrest on Tuesday and pleaded guilty to having grievously injured his partner’s ex-boyfriend and knowingly breached the peace.

“This was an unfortunate incident,” prosecuting Inspector Jeffrey Scicluna explained.

The court heard how Mr Harith had rushed to the scene after his partner called to tell him that she had just quarreled with her ex, whom she met in Valletta.

At the Granaries, an argument broke out between Mr Harith and the woman’s ex, who happened to be close to one of the carnival floats. Four individuals were reportedly involved in the fight.

Fearing that the group would turn on him, the accused had allegedly dealt the first blow.

Inspector Scicluna told the court that the other people involved in the fight would be arraigned, and said Mr Harith may have been provoked.

“I never had any argument with anyone. I’ve been here for four years,” the accused told the court.

His defence lawyer Mario Mifsud pointed out that Mr Harith had ended up caught up in an argument that did not concern him: the accused’s partner had apparently quarreled with her ex over family matters.

Mr Harith had a clean criminal record, was a first time offender and had filed an early guilty plea, the lawyer noted, saying his client had made a mistake in rushing to his partner’s side instead of calling the police.

The woman had suffered slight injuries in the brawl, the lawyer said.

Moreover, the accused had expressed remorse for his action, Dr Mifsud argued.

In light of these submissions, the court, presided over by magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, upheld a request for bail against a deposit of €300, a personal guarantee of €1700, an order to sign the bail book twice a week and under strict conditions of not approaching the witnesses.

The court further placed the accused under a Protection Order before adjourning the case for judgment next week.