A shop assistant was slightly injured when he resisted an attempted armed hold-up at a Birkirkara outlet late on Sunday.
The police said the incident happened at 10pm when a hooded man, allegedly armed with a knife, entered the shop in Valley Road and demanded cash.
But the shop attendant, a 34-year-old man from Eritrea, promptly locked the cash register.
The thief assaulted the shop attendant, brandishing a glass bottle he found in the shop.
The two tangled with each other for some time and the would-be-thief then ran out empty-handed.
The shop attendant called at the health centre where he was found to be suffering slight injuries.
Magistrate Ian Farrugia is holding an inquiry. The police are on the lookout for the aggressor.