A taxi driver has described being robbed at knifepoint by a passenger he believed "was ready to kill" him.

Harshall Thettilamariyil Azeez said the man took his wallet containing credit cards and €320 in cash after the incident at around 4.30am on Sunday.

The 33-year-old Bolt driver said he picked up a passenger on Triq il-Lvant in Valletta for a trip initially destined for Birżebbuġa.

However, the man requested a change of destination and asked to return to the Valletta waterfront area to retrieve his keys.

As Azeez stopped the car for the passenger at the Kavallieri bus stop, the man suddenly turned violent. 

"Suddenly, he was holding me by the neck and had a knife to my neck,” Azeez told Times of Malta. “I know that man was ready to kill me, I felt it,” he said.

Azeez said his attacker, a slim Maltese man with a small beard, demanded his wallet, money, and phone.

Azeez said he managed to grab the man’s hand holding the knife, triggering a 20-minute struggle inside and outside the vehicle but the suspect eventually fled with the driver’s wallet.

“I feel so scared. It was a terrible situation I don’t think I will ever fully recover from,” said Azeez, who is from India but has been living in Malta for four years.

Police arrived shortly after the incident, and Azeez was taken to the polyclinic for chest pains before being transferred to Mater Dei Hospital. He was discharged on Monday after being treated for a panic attack.

The robber is still at large, police confirmed to Times of Malta. 

On Monday afternoon, Azeez shared his experience on social media, urging fellow night-time drivers to remain vigilant. “All those who drive at night should be very careful and take one more precaution,” he wrote.

Police have confirmed they are investigating the case as a mugging.