A man who smashed a pint glass in a barman’s face two years ago has had a five-year prison term reduced by one year, after a court found that he was working hard to reform while behind bars. 

Srdan Simic, 25, had been declared guilty in November last year and handed a five-year jail term after admitting to attacking the barman of a Qawra pub in April 2017.

The barman ended up with battling to save his eyesight and with glass fragments inside his eye. 

Mr Simic had filed an appeal based on three separate grounds. 

He argued that the judgement had been prejudiced, highlighting “unrecorded comments” by the magistrate related to Mr Simic’s foreign nationality.

Mr Simic also argued that there had been a wrong application of law since a beer glass did not fall within the legal definition of a “sharp or pointed instrument” for the purpose of applying the relative punishment.

Thirdly, the punishment had been manifestly excessive, the appellant’s lawyer argued.

A court of criminal appeal presided over by Mr Justice Aaron Bugeja turned down all three arguments raised by Mr Simic’s defence.

It however observed that modern day penal law focused on a three-pronged approach: retribution, prevention and rehabilitation.

Against this background, the court took note of a prison official’s testimony who had described Mr Simic as “an exemplary inmate” who worked in the kitchen at the Corradino Correctional Facility and “cooperated with prison officials.”

The accused had registered improvement, striving to put his term in prison to good use “to invest in himself,” the official had said.

The court said that such an attitude of contrition efforts to reform were to be encouraged.

Mr Simic had turned on the barman in an “unsolicited” attack, leaving him with a 70% permanent debility in one eye and glass fragments still embedded inside his eye, the Court recalled, stressing the serious nature of the accused’s action.

However, Mr Simic had subsequently shouldered responsibility for his wrongdoing and strived to change his life while in prison. This was beneficial to society, the Court observed.

For this reason, the court conceded a “moderate” variation by reducing the punishment to a four-year effective jail term whilst confirming the payment of court expenses amounting to €745.64.

Lawyer Roberto Montalto was defence counsel.
Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri appeared parte civile.