An argument at a family event on Tuesday evening triggered "revenge" by one of the parties who later that night was found in possession of two kitchen knives after allegedly smashing another man’s front door. 

Manuel Barbara, a 54-year-old Paola resident, was intercepted by the police in the early hours of Wednesday morning wandering along a street at his hometown shortly after being alerted to his presence by a third party.

Someone had called the local police station to report a man damaging the front door of a residence and then walking on.

Arriving at the street, police confirmed that one of the residences did have a damaged door. 

They knocked and were met by the occupant who told the officers that he had not heard anything. 

Further down the road, the officers caught up with the suspect who, when frisked, was found in possession of two meat knives. 

The man bore visible signs of injury which he shrugged off, telling the officers that he had been injured in a fall. 

He was taken to the health centre for medical attention.

It later transpired that the man had been involved in an argument earlier that evening while attending a family event at Birżebbuġa. 

That incident was defused and those involved had gone their separate ways. 

But later, at around 3am, the accused allegedly headed to a Paola home where one of those he had argued with, lived. 

When questioned by police, he allegedly stated that he had been there “for revenge,” explained prosecuting Inspector Paul Camilleri. 

He appeared in court on Thursday with two bandaged fingers and visible facial injuries and was charged with threatening the victim, targeting him with insults and threats which exceeded the limits of provocation, wilfully damaging his front door and carrying two knives without a police permit. 

He pleaded not guilty. 

A request for bail was objected to not only because the alleged victim was still to testify but also because the accused had been carrying weapons on the street and had expressed his intended “revenge”.

Moreover, his criminal record did not make him sufficiently trustworthy to be let out and about, argued the prosecution. The man’s legal aid lawyer countered that at the time of arrest, the accused was drunk. 

Moreover, during the party he had been attacked by a number of individuals and was scared of the alleged victim. 

Although both lived in the same locality, their homes were rather distant at the far sides of town. 

After hearing submissions, the court, presided over by Magistrate Kevan Azzopardi, turned down the request given the circumstances of the case, particularly the fact that the accused lived in the vicinity of the victim who was still to testify. 

The man’s criminal record also gave the court no peace of mind that he would abide by conditions if he were to be granted bail. 

Inspector Antonello Magri also prosecuted.