Jailed for beating man with power cable

A Gozitan man was yesterday jailed for three years for holding a 72-year-old man against his will, threatened to kill him and slightly injuring him when he beat him with an electricity cable.

Benny Attard, 44, of Xaghra was also found guilty of trying to seriously injure Joseph Farrugia, keeping and carrying a firearm without a licence and firing it in a public area on July 9, 2002.

Magistrate Paul Coppini heard how Farrugia had been living with Attard and his sister for the last two years since he had a relationship with the latter.

Although at first Farrugia had been treated well, in the two months before he was finally rescued by the police, he was beaten, locked up on the roof during the day and only allowed out of the house to cash his pension cheque accompanied by Attard.

The police had received an anonymous report that Farrugia was being ill-treated. Farrugia was taken to hospital suffering from injuries but initially insisted that he had hurt himself after falling down the stairs.

However, during investigations Farrugia told the police that Attard had beaten him up with an electricity cable while he was lying down on the floor on a mattress. On other occasions Attard had hit him in the eye with a ring and had also punched him in his stomach.

Farrugia also described how Attard had threatened to kill him with his firearm and afterwards dispose of the body by throwing it away in a sack.

Magistrate Coppini noted that Attard had admitted to slightly injuring the elderly man and did not deny beating him.

Therefore, it had been sufficiently proven that Attard had slightly injured Farrugia and, in the light of the evidence produced, the magistrate also found Attard guilty of attempted serious injury.

Inspectors Angelo Caruana and Antonello Grech prosecuted.

Attard was assisted by lawyer Mario Scerri and legal counsel Chris Said appeared in parte civile.