Watch: Tourist denies injuring man during poolside brawl at Seabank Hotel

Updated 7.53pm with db Group statement

A 29-year-old British tourist has pleaded not guilty to grievously injuring a man during a violent altercation at Seabank Hotel in Mellieħa on Saturday.

Liam Joseph Stacey appeared before Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech on Monday, charged with causing grievous bodily harm during a brawl involving a group of allegedly drunk and aggressive Maltese patrons at the hotel.

A witness said the scene unfolded after Stacey was slapped in the face by one of the Maltese men, causing him to fall over his toddler. Stacey got up and allegedly punched the man in retaliation.

The court briefly suspended the sitting while police checked on the injured man’s condition. The court later confirmed that due to the man’s absence, it would not discuss his medical condition.

Testifying in court, British police officer Tonia Cook, who was on holiday staying at the hotel with friends, described a group of seven or eight Maltese individuals who had arrived that morning and began drinking heavily.

She said the group had a baby with them and were hanging the baby upside down and spilling drinks around the area, including in the pool, and behaving aggressively: “They were drunk, threatening and aggressive,” Cook said.

Cook said hotel staff failed to intervene despite complaints and that no security staff were present.

After lunch, she returned to find the group had demanded sunbeds and moved guests’ belongings. She recounted seeing a man in red trunks shouting at a woman in his group and dragging her by the hair.

Cook said her group had informed the hotel staff about the aggressive behaviour but the hotel staff had told them they would not get involved.

Later, she heard screams from the main pool area and saw the man in red trunks throwing sunbeds and punching people. “No one from the hotel came to help,” she said, adding that the staff refused to call the police.

In a statement later on Monday, the hotel's operator db Group said it was treating the incident with "utmost seriousness" and had opened an internal investigation into Saturday's events. 

After going outside to look for her children, Cook found a crowd around a Maltese man on the floor and her friend, an emergency doctor, performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the man.

She saw the man on the floor turning blue. Cook asked the staff if they had called for paramedics, but they ignored her questions.

Cook said she saw the man in red trunks running to the exit and hitting people as he went through.

“I told the staff to lock the doors, but they refused since he [the unidentified man in red trunks] was a paying guest,” the witness recalled, adding that the man had thrown furniture and punched the walls.

Eventually an ambulance arrived and took the man who was on the ground away.

Cook held the man in the red trunks and asked the police to arrest him. The officers did so but soon released him after he started to cry.

“A cleaner came out and started to clean. I told the cleaner to stop. As a senior police officer with 25 years in policing this could be a crime scene if someone dies. I stopped the cleaner and taped off the area myself,” Cook said, to the court's incredulity.

‘I did not come to Malta to feel scared’

Cook encountered Stacey’s partner, Natasha Jerrard, inside the hotel, who was in distress after being told the Maltese group had taken her children, the British police officer said.

Stacey later told Cook: “Somebody punched me, I pushed him back and he fell.” She wrote his statement down and handed it to police.

“This ruined our holiday. I did not come to Malta to feel scared,” Cook said, adding some guests had locked themselves in their rooms while others left the hotel early.

“It is a disgrace from start to finish. I told the manager, and he did absolutely nothing,” she said. “Had the hotel staff removed those people after so many people told them so, we would not be here today”.

The court apologised for the Maltese patrons’ behaviour and ordered Cook’s testimony be sent to the Police Commissioner.

‘The hotel did nothing’

Martin Wesley, the partner of Stacey’s mother, also testified. He similarly recalled a rowdy group of Maltese individuals who had been drinking and cursing in public. Different people told them to be quiet.

Asked how he knew they were cursing, Wesley said that the people in the group hurled insults such as “f**k off” and “t**ts” to the tourists.

“Liam told them to be quiet,” Wesley said, explaining the Maltese group had been upsetting the children.

“The man who fell to the ground slapped Liam across the face causing him to fall onto the defendant’s baby. Liam retaliated and hit back. Two more individuals came and hit him,” Wesley said.

Wesley said a video of the incident shows Stacey after he had been slapped, and that the children were just out of frame.

Stacey’s partner, Natasha Jerrard, said they had asked the hotel to stop serving alcohol to the rowdy group an hour before the incident.

“They did not say anything, and they did not do anything,” Jerrard testified, referring to the hotel staff, adding that at one point they told the group to “get out and go home”.

“One of the men came up and slapped Liam. He fell on our two-year-old. Liam got up and punched the man and the man fell on the ground,” Jerrard recalled.

She said she later saw the man in red trunks chasing Stacey through the hotel as she searched for their missing daughter.

Hotel statement

In a statement, db Group said it was "fully cooperating with all the relevant authorities to ensure transparency and accountability".

"In addition, we have also taken other preemptive actions such as strengthening of security measures and a review of our admissions policy," it said. 

"Should it be established that there were shortcomings from any employee of db Group, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken without hesitation."

The group said it "unequivocally condemns all forms of violence and inappropriate behaviour" and remains committed to maintaining a safe environment.

Bail

Defence lawyer Stefano Filletti argued that Stacey’s actions were in response to the group’s violent behaviour and asked for bail.

“The accused did throw punches but these have to be taken into context of the group’s violent behaviour,” defence lawyer Stefano Filletti told the court.

The court granted Stacey bail against a €1,000 personal guarantee and ordered him to sign the bail book weekly. It also instructed the Police Commissioner to investigate potential damage to third-party property, public disturbances, threats, and insults.

Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech presided.

The prosecution was led by AG lawyer Brandon Bonnici, assisted by Inspectors Bradley Grima and Clayton Camilleri.

Lawyer Stefano Filletti assisted the accused.