Former Labour MP Anthony Zammit has started to testify in the trial of Kenneth Ellul, who stands accused of having been among three intruders who burgled his house in Zebbug and beat him up in August 2009.
Just before Prof Zammit was called to testify, prosecutor Lara Lanfranco reiterated her call for his testimony to be heard behind closed doors due to a number of press articles that were very damaging to his reputation.
Mr Justice Lawrence Quintano said that the trial by jury was public and this emerged as a cardinal point in law. He asked all media - from radio to bloggers - not to sensationalise the story as this was a hold-up which could have happened to anyone. He added that he could not see a reason for banning the media. He specifically reminded bloggers of their responsibilities.
Taking the witness stand, Prof. Zammit said he held back tears as he started to recount what had happened.
He said that on August 11 in the afternoon he had seen patients at Natius Health and Beauty Centre as he normally did. A patient invited him to dinner in St Paul's Bay. Ignatius Farrugia picked him up and they went to dinner.
He returned home at around 2.10am. He went into the kitchen to check if the cat had food and went up the spiral staircase through a small terrace and into the bedroom. He usually slept naked, especially because of the heat.
As he was drifting off to sleep, he saw three people. The accused grabbed him from his left arm and another grabbed the right one. The third sat on his stomach.
One of them began hitting him in the face repeatedly.
He asked them what they wanted and they said money.
He told them that he had money which he was about to deposit. They said they wanted Lm20,000 (approx €46,000). The accused left the room and the other two stayed.
Five minutes later the accused came up and warned him not to shout. The men then tied his feet using the lampshade wire.
They tied his hands with a tie and stuffed his mouth with another tie.
The men then began to ransack the place. They asked him if others lived there because there was another bedroom.
Prof Zammit said this was about 2.55am. He said one of the men carried a sawn off shot gun which was aimed at his head.
He said all he saw were shadows with the moonlight streaming through the windows.
He noticed how the men walked, their gait, one of them was wearing a carnival mask. He asked why they were doing this to him.
One of the men called the other Ronnie. The accused left and began calling Ghandi, Ghandi! Then he returned.
He asked them if they knew he was a Member of Parliament and they stood liable for a heftier punishment if they were caught. He said he did not care.
They began to swear and he told them he was a good man and if they were going to kill him, he would go to heaven. He said he would pray that Our Lady forgave them for their swearing.
He said the accused had a long stride.
Prof Zammit said he called the third one Mr Michelin because he was fat and short.
The accused, he said, crouched down near the bed and placed the gun near his head wrapped in a pillow so that if it went off it would not make a sound.
Prof Zammit said he drank a bottle of beer before he went to sleep.
The accused grabbed the bottle from the night table and placed it on his face, chest and then his backside and complemented him.
He then threatened to cut off his fingers and toes one by one. He began to press one of his fingers very hard and Prof Zammit said he began to scream and then began to fake a heart attack.
He called on the men to place a pill under my tongue, the purpose being to make at least one of them take off his gloves and leave finger prints.
He told the accused that he also needed a patch.
He had also told the accused to calm down because he began swearing.
Psychology, he told the court, was the key.
"It's a battle of wits".
Prof Zammit said Ronnie came into the room and then the accused got onto the bed and turned his around.
Ronnie demanded to know where his safe was. He told them it was under the stairs, it was old and empty. The accused then placed a shirt into his mouth.
Ronnie got onto the bed and he shoved a shirt down his throat. Prof Zammit said he thought that it was the end, and lost consciousness.
When he came round, he told the intruders: 'I'm dying, I'm dying,' and started to make sounds as if he was dying.
'Ronnie,' grabbed the gun and with the butt began hitting him on my legs.Prof Zammit said he continued to pretend that he was dying.
The sitting is still in progress.
EARLIER EVIDENCE
Earlier today, witness Christopher Shepard explained how he gave the police the names of those who allegedly entered Prof Zammit's house in Zebbug six years ago. He said that Prof Zammit hugged him on being informed, but his wife was threatened by one of the men he had mentioned.
Mr Shepard said that in 2009 he had gone to speak to Prof Zammit and told him about the statement he had made to the police regarding the case. He said that he had first spoken to Police Inspector Joe Mercieca where he said that on the day of the crime, Christian Ellul and Kenneth Ellul (the accused) went to his house and asked him to accompany them on some work they had to do.
Mr Shepard told them that he was not up to it because his mother had just died. The accused had opened the boot of their car, a grey Fiat, and shown him a shotgun and dark coloured clothing. They told him they were going to a house in Zebbug, belonging to the professor.
Christian Ellul also told him that Bruno Farrugia would also be participating.
Mr Shepard said that when he called at Mr Zammit's house to tell him what he had told the police, the professor hugged and kissed him.
Mr Shepard said that he did not go there to get some reward, but to help. He told Prof Zammit who the men were and that he could have suffered much worse.
Bruno Farrugia had told him that a ring (taken from the house) had been exchanged with a gram of cocaine.
Mr Shepard said that when he testified for a second time before a magistrate in 2010, his wife had been threatened by Christian Ellul.
Under cross examination by defence lawyer Josette Sultana, Mr Shepard said he was being questioned by the police over something else when he decided to reveal the information. He said he knew the accused but not Christian Ellul.
He said the main culprit was still out. When asked if he knew another man, Mark Anthony Ellul, he said he met him once.
Mr Shepard said the accused knew who the intruders were, but was scared to talk.
Taking the witness stand, forensic pathologist Mario Scerri, exhibited photos of the victim and described how his injuries were compatible with blunt trauma.
Next on the witness stand, Mark Anthony Ellul, said that he could not remember everything because it was five years ago and he was a little confused as he had also read the newspapers.
Mr Justice Lawrence Quintano told him to forget all that and stick to what he remembered.
Mr Ellul said that the accused had told him that they got into Prof Zammit's house before the professor arrived, but he could not remember how many people were mentioned.
At this point prosecuting lawyer Kevin Valletta read out a statement taken some years back where Mr Ellul said that the accused had told him that they had gone into the house using a key. He confirmed it.
Earlier, Dr Pierre Farrugia said that he worked in the department of ophthalmology. He examined Mr Zammit, who was found to be suffering bruising around his left eye but there was no damage in the eye. There were fractures in the eye socket and air in the sinuses around the eye and are deemed grievous injuries.
Taking the witness stand, speech therapists Patrick Vella, Paul Schembri and Kenneth Delia said that they took speech samples from the accused since the victim had said that one of his aggressors had a lisp and it sounded like the accused. The victim had heard the accused speak during the compilation of evidence.
The therapists said the accused had a partial denture on the upper jaw and they asked him to speak with and without it.
Through their tests they established his speech was fine and he did not have any speech defects.