Two brothers accused of murder and now facing fresh charges over an early morning fight have had their bail confirmed on appeal.
Siraj S.B. Shalgum,39 and Husam Saleh Belgasem Shalgum, 34, landed in fresh trouble earlier this month following a violent incident outside a San Gwann bar at around 3.00am.
The brothers pleaded not guilty to grievously injuring the alleged victim, damaging his mobile, breaching previous bail conditions as well as disturbing the peace.
Both men were granted bail when they were arraigned, after the prosecution also informed the court that the fight victim had apparently expressed his will to forgive them.
However, the Attorney General filed an appeal seeking to have bail revoked and the brothers re-arrested, arguing that the case was still at a very early stage and bail conditions were not sufficient, even in view of the unruly character of both co-accused.
Moreover, since neither the alleged victim nor other civilian witnesses had yet testified, there was a real fear of tampering with evidence, the attorney general said.
The men’s lawyers rebutted those arguments, arguing that the alleged victim was also facing criminal charges over the fight and would therefore not be a competent witness in the case.
The Criminal Court, presided over by Madam Justice Edwina Grima, declared that the first court had weighed all circumstances before granting bail and there was no reason to change its decision.
Moreover, since the alleged victim was also to be charged over the same violent episode, he would not be competent to testify against the brothers.
Nonetheless, given the gravity of the charges and the fact that other civilian witnesses were still to testify, bail conditions were not “altogether effective,” said Madam Justice Grima.
Thus while rejecting the AG’s request for re-arrest, the court imposed more stringent conditions by increasing the bail deposit from €500 to €3,000 and set a personal guarantee of €10,000 instead of the original €2,000 imposed by the magistrates’ court.
The brothers had been charged in December 2017 over the death of a 40-year old compatriot, following a fight inside their Birkirkara home.
Both had pleaded not guilty to murder charges and had been granted bail at a later stage of the proceedings.
Lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Amadeus Cachia are defence counsel.