Three men were charged with assaulting and robbing a cab driver after he dropped them off at their destination earlier this month.

Somali nationals Abdiqadir Abdulla Absirashid, 39, Daud Shiek Ahmed, 30, and Muse Mohammed Shiraq, 30, pleaded not guilty. They were all charged with aggravated theft from the taxi driver on the night of January 2, while Shiraq alone was charged with seriously injuring the driver, Anil Pande. 

Ahmed and Shiraq were also charged with robbing  Golam Ahmmad Porag and Rejin Rajeev on December 28, 2024, and January 10 respectively at a garden in Paola, while Ahmed alone was charged with relapsing.

Ahmed and Shiraq initially said they wanted to plead guilty. The magistrate told them they faced a minimum jail term of five and a half years, and gave them time to reconsider their plea. They changed their plea to not guilty. 

All three were remanded in police custody.

Earlier, Magistrate Joseph Gatt heard how, on January 2, police received a report about an incident that occurred on the night between January 1 and 2. An Ecabs driver reported having been robbed and assaulted in Birżebbuġa. 

The victim said that once he arrived at the destination with three dark-skinned passengers, he was robbed of his mobile and assaulted with a pointed object. He suffered serious injuries in the face.

CCTV footage showed that the three people involved lived at the Ħal Far tent village and this led to the identification of the three accused.

Police were also informed of another incident that took place in Paola in a garden near the Corradino Correctional Facility, where a man was assaulted and robbed. The three accused were arrested on Wednesday. 

Lawyers Martina Calleja and Martina Muscat from the Attorney General’s office prosecuted together with police inspectors Stephen Gulia and Lydon Zammit.

Lawyer Martina Herrera represented the accused.