Two unlicensed bouncers who allegedly injured four young tourists during a violent argument in Paceville 10 days ago, were granted bail upon arraignment on Friday.
Ivan Marjanovic, 42, and Milos Stojkovic, 37, both Serbian nationals living in Msida, were allegedly identified from CCTV footage as two of the three bouncers involved in the scuffle that started in a club and continued on the streets.
The brawl appears to have been triggered by a verbal argument when the youths were ordered out of the club at around 1.30am on October 15.
When they refused, saying they had done nothing wrong, the bouncers allegedly resorted to physical force.
The three bouncers and the group of youths clashed on St Rita Street and continued all the way down to Baystreet.
Police later identified two of the bouncers but the third bouncer is still missing and the police are still searching for him.
On Friday, the prosecution charged the pair with grievously injuring three of the youths, slightly injuring a fourth victim and wilfully breaching public peace.
They were also charged with working as security guards without a licence.
They pleaded not guilty.
A request for bail was objected to by the prosecution who argued that the defendants could possibly meet civilian witnesses if they returned to work at Paceville.
The defence countered that the alleged victims had since left Malta and that reduced the risk of tampering with evidence.
Both defendants had a fixed address and residence permits in Malta. One of them had family ties in the country since he lived here with his wife and child.
After hearing submissions, the court, presided over by magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, upheld the request but prohibited the defendants from going to Paceville.
Bail was granted against a deposit of €2,000 and an €8,000 personal guarantee each, as well as signing the bail book three times a week.
The court also directed Jobsplus to investigate the defendants’ employer and the clubs where they acted as bouncers to determine whether they were regularly and lawfully employed.
AG lawyers Etienne Savona and Valentina Cassar prosecuted together with Inspector Nico Zarb.
Lawyers Jessica Formosa and Ilona Schembri were defence counsel.