Two brothers were remanded in custody after pleading not guilty to their alleged involvement in a knife attack in Valletta on Sunday evening.

Sylvester James, a 33-year-old construction worker and his brother Reginald, 29 and unemployed, both living at Ħamrun, had reportedly turned up to lend a friend a hand after the latter was caught up in a verbal argument that had broken out among neighbours inside an apartment block in St John’s Square. 

However, the arrival of the two brothers apparently caused the altercation to escalate to such extent that a third party was injured in the ensuing knife attack.

The two suspect aggressors were arrested and escorted to court on Tuesday, where they pleaded not guilty to attempting to grievously injure their alleged victim, causing him slight injuries and breaching the peace.

Sylvester James was separately charged with carrying a knife without the necessary police licence.

A request for bail by defence lawyer Frank Cassar was objected to by prosecuting Inspector Jeffrey Scicluna who pointed out that civilian witnesses, including both the alleged victim and his wife, who had also eye-witnessed the violence, were still to testify.

Moreover, both brothers were deemed untrustworthy, as evidenced by their “vast criminal record”.

The men’s lawyer countered that the charges were not so grave as to warrant a denial of a person’s freedom, arguing that bail could still be granted under strict conditions including a curfew and an order to steer clear of the prosecution’s witnesses.

After hearing submissions by both parties, the court, presided over by magistrate Neville Camilleri, turned down the request for bail in view of the circumstances of the case, the nature of the charges and the criminal record of both accused.

While declaring that it was not convinced that the brothers would abide by bail conditions, the Court urged the prosecution to summon all civilian witnesses, including the victim, at the first hearing.