A man who was held under preventive custody on New Year’s Eve following a violent argument with his sister the day before has been granted bail.

The 54-year-old Kalkara man, whose name was withheld to protect the identity of his alleged victim was arrested after an ongoing family row spilled over, triggering the violent incident between the brother and sister.

At around 10am the two clashed had clashed at Xgħajra over premises that were rented out to the alleged victim. 

The accused ended up facing charges of attempted homicide, slightly injuring his sister, insulting and threatening her beyond the limits of provocation as well as willfully damaging third-party property. 

The man, who allegedly drove his car in such a manner as to barely miss running over his sister, also pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving, breaching public peace, harassment and exercising a pretended right.

While the compilation of evidence continues, defence lawyers filed a fresh application for bail before the Criminal Court.

In view of the fact that the main prosecution witnesses have testified and the violent incident was recorded on CCTV footage which had since been preserved in evidence, the court, presided over by Mr Justice Giovanni Grixti, upheld the request, observing that preventive custody was no longer necessary at this stage.

Moreover, the accused had also supplied a fixed address which appeared not to have been available upon his arraignment. 

In light of such considerations, the court granted bail against a deposit of €1,000, a personal guarantee of €2,000, signing the bail book three times weekly and abiding by a curfew between 11pm and 7am.

The court also warned the accused not to communicate with or approach the prosecution witnesses in any way. 

Lawyers Ishmael Psaila and Maxine Gatt are defence counsel. Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi is appearing parte civile. Inspectors Audrey Micallef and Clayton Camilleri are prosecuting, assisted by AG lawyer George Camilleri.