A man was on Friday cleared of stabbing another man in the face after a magistrate ruled that the case had not been sufficiently proven. 

Tarek Meashi Ualid, 24, a Syrian national from Marsalforn, had been charged with seriously injuring Ahmad Khlif with a knife on June 1, 2023, in Marsa.

Magistrate Leonard Caruana noted there were two conflicting versions of what happened.

Evidence showed that Khlif had engaged Ualid to carry out a plastering job and, on completion, Ualid asked to be paid.

Ualid claimed he completed the job well, but Khlif insisted the job was not finished.

Ualid insisted on getting paid and the two agreed to meet to clear things out.

They met and Ualid got into Khlif’s car and they drove around.

Khlif said when he parked the car, Ualid got out and he suddenly felt a stab in the side of his face. He needed stitches on his left cheek all the way to his mouth.

He later said he got injured in an accident involving a pointed metal rod.

But Ualid said that it was Khlif who brought out the knife and hit himself in the face while he wrestled him in self-defence.

In light of the conflicting versions, and inconsistencies in the versions of the alleged victim, there was a lack of evidence to prove the charges brought forward by police.

The magistrate cleared the accused of the charges.

Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Jacob Magri represented the accused.