Two men were arraigned in court today and accused of having been involved in the attempted hold-up of the HSBC Centre in Qormi a week ago today.

Darren Debono, 33, of Zonqor and Vincent Muscat, 48, of no permanent address, faced 18 charges including the attempted murder of the two police officers who foiled the hold-up, attempted theft, stealing a pistol from the bank's security officer, holding three bank officers against their will, causing damage to property and being relapsers.

Both pleaded not guilty and were remanded in custody.

During the arraignment, Darren Debono kept nursing a wound on his face - he was operated earlier this week after suffering a bullet wound to his jaw.

Mr Muscat's defence counsel, Chris Cardona requested bail for his client, arguing that all witnesses were police officers so there was no fear of tampering of evidence.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera remanded him in custody because of the seriousness of the case and his previous 13 convictions, which included breaching of traffic regulations, illegal gambling and theft.

Joe Giglio, who represented Darrin Debono did not request bail.

Mr Debono and Mr Muscat tried to hide their faces with their jackets as they were taken into the law courts building from the front door.