The police this afternoon called for information on the whereabouts of two Libyan men wanted in connection with an incident last week in which a Colombian man died after an argument outside a Paceville nightclub.
The wanted men are Zyad Mohamed Drebeka, 23, and Ahmed Rasem Franko, 29.
Carlos Augusto, 37, who was in Malta to study English, suffered blows to his head with what is believed to have been a glass object in a fight outside a bar in Paceville early on Thursday.
He fought for his life at Mater Dei Hospital’s Intensive Therapy Unit but succumbed to his injuries on Sunday.
Sources close to the investigation told the Times of Malta that the two Libyans suspects were “known to the police” and visited Paceville on a regular basis.
Mr Franko, has a pending court case regarding the alleged attempted rape of a Swedish woman in January of last year. He claims that they were engaged in a sexual act at St George’s Bay when the woman had a sudden change of heart.
According to preliminary investigations, it has emerged that the two Libyan men got into a fight with Mr Augusto on Thursday.
It is believed that Mr Augusto was on the receiving end of blows to his head with a glass object. Investigations have so far revealed that the men were thrown out of the bar when the scuffle began.
An autopsy conducted yesterday was “inconclusive”, according to the police, as more tests were required to establish the cause of death.
However, sources close to the hospital said Mr Augusto had sustained severe head injuries and had lost a considerable amount of blood.
Meanwhile, the Colombian Consulate in Malta said on its Facebook page that it was closely following the investigation into the murder of the Colombian national and “condemned the killing”. It said it was also making arrangements to have Mr Augusto’s corpse flown to his home country for relatives to pay their final respects.
In 2012, Paceville was also the death scene of Sudanese national, Osama Al Shazliay Saleh, 27, who was pushed to the ground and died a few days later from the severe head injuries he had sustained.
Romanian national Atonel Dobre was charged with his murder and is now serving seven years in jail – reduced from a maximum of 20 years after a panel of jurors found that he had been provoked when he pushed the victim. He has appealed the sentence, and this is still pending.
Anyone having information was asked to contact the police on telephone 119 / 21 224001-9 or St Julian's police station 2294 2435 or 2294 3401.