A man and his minor relative, allegedly involved in a violent incident with a Somali who ended up with facial fractures and broken teeth, were granted bail upon their arraignment on Tuesday. 

Paul Spagnol, a 35-year-old manager from Birkirkara and the 17-year-old co-accused from San Ġwann were arrested after being identified by the alleged victim who returned to the scene of the incident shortly after filing a police report.

Prosecuting inspector Andy Rotin explained how the 54-year-old Somali man, who lives in Marsa, turned up at the Ħamrun police station at around 2am on Monday, claiming to have been attacked at a nearby bar.

The man said he had entered the lounge to buy a drink but was turned away because the place was at the time allegedly reserved for a private party. 

An argument broke out and the “rejected” customer ended up suffering facial fractures and broken teeth. 

The alleged victim returned to the shop at the Ħamrun square with police officers, identifying the two accused as his aggressors.

He was later taken to hospital and his injuries were certified as grievous.

The duo were charged with grievously injuring and assaulting the victim as well as breaching public peace. The elder man was also charged with relapsing. Both pleaded not guilty.

A request for bail was objected to by the prosecution since several civilian witnesses, including the victim and staff at the bar, were still to testify and that could mean tampering with evidence.

However, defence lawyers Alex Scerri Herrera and Roberto Spiteri countered that the prosecution’s perceived fears were “not concrete” but simply the “normal” fears raised at arraignments.

Such fears needed to be backed up by concrete arguments, they argued, adding that both accused were permanently residents in Malta and the fear of absconding did not subsist.

Moreover, the 17-year-old, whose name was banned from publication under court order, had an untainted criminal record, while his relative had no pending proceedings in court.

It made no sense to remand the accused in custody, argued the lawyers, pointing out that such a decision would put their job prospects at risk. 

Besides, the account of the incident by the victim was somewhat different from the truth, argued Scerri Herrera, pointing out that the man had conveniently left out details which indicated that he had sparked the clash.

After hearing submissions, the court, presided over by magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras, upheld the request, granting each of the accused bail against a deposit of €1,000, a personal guarantee of €6,500, signing the bail book three times weekly and under a curfew of between 9.30pm and 7am.

The court ordered the accused not to approach or communicate with any of the prosecution witnesses in any way and to keep away from Ħamrun.

Finally, the court issued a protection order in favour of the alleged victim.