A pensioner who allegedly threw a chair at his neighbour and then pushed her against a rooftop railing was granted bail after facing criminal charges on Monday. 

Stephen Gauci, the 64-year-old resident, was apparently caught up in a number of civil lawsuits with a female neighbour at the same apartment block. The bone of contention between the two apparently concerned use of the block’s roof, and matters got out of hand late on Saturday evening, when the man spotted a light on the rooftop of the building and headed straight upstairs. 

That was when an argument broke out. 

Gauci allegedly first grabbed a chair and flung it at the woman before rushing at her and pinning her against the railing which separated her from an eight-storey drop. 

At that point the woman’s son allegedly intervened, grabbing the aggressor and pinning him on the ground until police arrived. 

When officers rushed on site from the nearby police station, following a call for help at around 11:15pm, they came across the woman’s son, pinning the man down in a citizen’s arrest.

Gauci and his alleged victim had been at loggerheads for the past year and a half or so and had filed a number of civil lawsuits against each other, explained prosecuting Inspector Keith Xerri during Monday’s arraignment.

Gauci was charged with slightly injuring the woman and her son, applying violence, including moral or psychological violence, against them, causing them to fear violence, assaulting both mother and son, insulting and threatening them, harassment as well as breaching the public peace. 

He pleaded not guilty. 

Prosecutors objected to a bail request, arguing that the accused and his alleged victims lived within the same block. 

Following Saturday’s incident, the woman was so scared that she moved out of her home and slept elsewhere, even though her elderly neighbour was under arrest. 

Moreover, this was not the first episode between the two and this incident could have had far more serious consequences had the woman fallen from the rooftop, argued the prosecutor.

There were other eyewitnesses besides the woman’s son who were still to testify too. 

Defence lawyer Kris Busietta rebutted that the accused’s brother, who was present in court, was willing to offer him a place to stay, thus eliminating the prosecution’s fear in that regard. The court could also impose other conditions to allay the prosecution’s fears, such as prohibiting the accused from going to that apartment block, he argued.

The defence lawyer contested the prosecution’s version of events and argued that his client had also been injured in the incident. 

Moreover, civilian witnesses had also supplied their version to the police and thus there was no fear of tampering with evidence, argued the defence. 

The injuries suffered by the accused were caused during the citizen’s arrest, pointed out the prosecutor, adding that while the pensioner was being held down, he allegedly threatened to send his brother to attack the victim’s son. 

After hearing submissions and after examining the documents presented by the prosecution the court, presided over by Magistrate Astrid May Grima, granted bail against a deposit of €5,000, a personal guarantee of €10,000, signing the bail book twice a week, under a curfew between 9:00pm and 7:00am and on strict orders of not approaching the prosecution witnesses in any way. 

He was also barred from going to St Julian’s or his residence there for any reason whatsoever. 

The court also issued a Protection Order in favour of the alleged victims. 

Inspector Keith Xerri prosecuted.Lawyers Jason Azzopardi, Kris Busietta and Adrian Camilleri are defence counsel. Lawyer Anna Maria Cordina Zammit appeared parte civile.