A 38-year-old man on prescription pills drank and smoked a joint prior to a violent attack on an eatery in Paceville on Tuesday evening, a court has heard. 

Gonzalo-Noel Sanchez Fernandez was remanded in custody on Saturday after being accused of attacking patrons and damaging property. 

The owners of the Paceville restaurant recounted to Times of Malta how they had to restrain Fernandez after he started attacking patrons with a knife and glass bottles.

Both owners required medical treatment for lacerations they received from the Spanish man, who entered the restaurant in Triq il-Wilġa at about 10.30pm and started attacking patrons with a knife and glass bottles that he picked up from the tables.

A Swiss man was grievously injured in the attack.

Magistrate Gabriella Vella upheld a request on Saturday by Fernandez's lawyer David Bonello for his client to be held for observation at Mount Carmel's forensic unit.

In confirming the incident, the police said that before he entered the restaurant, the man damaged a Ford Focus driven by a 28-year-old Pakistani.

The Italian restaurateur said the man, who was not a patron, entered the restaurant and started bothering diners, who numbered about 20 or 30 at the time.

“We immediately realised that he was not acting normally. We asked him to leave and he grabbed a glass bottle from one of the tables and smashed it on a Swiss man’s head,” the owner had told Times of Malta.

Police had to use a taser to restrain Fernandez after being alerted about the incident. 

The prosecution is being led by inspector Jean Paul Attard.