A man shot in the back near Dingli in August initially thought the pain from the shooting was due to an electric shock from touching the engine of his car, a court heard on Thursday.

Victim Noel Ciantar was testifying in the first hearing in the compilation of evidence against his alleged attacker, Joseph Micallef, a 73-year-old farmer who had allegedly told the police he had issues with Ciantar and “could take it no more”.

The shooting took place in the rural area of Wied Ħazrum, outside the victim’s home, on August 19.

Following Ciantar’s testimony, Micallef was granted bail.

Ciantar told the court that on the morning he was shot, he had planned to go out with his mother so he drove his car out of the garage, parked it in front of his farmhouse, loaded some personal belongings and then lifted the car bonnet to check the water level.

But as he stood there, bent over his car engine, he heard what sounded like an explosion and felt a sudden pain in his back.

At that moment, he did not realise he had been shot, thinking that he had suffered an electric shock when touching the engine.

His calls for help brought his brother rushing out of the house.

And that was when they realised that he had been shot, recalled the victim on the witness stand.

'Lengthy' list of names

Police, alerted to the shooting which took place at around noon, rushed to that remote area between Dingli and Rabat.

The aggressor had fled the scene and Ciantar, 49, later told the police that he had not seen whoever fired the weapon. 

However, he did supply investigators with names of people with whom he had pending issues.

Ciantar is well known for his firm stand against NGOs, private landowners and government entities when protecting his property rights.

One of the names on that list was Micallef’s.

The victim was rushed to Mater Dei Hospital where, at one point he was certified as being in a critical condition.

Inspector Kurt Zahra, who was leading investigations into the shooting incident, testified how police immediately set to work, checking the “rather lengthy” list of names supplied by Ciantar.

When checking on Micallef, the farmer told them he had not strayed from his farm.

But when the police turned up at Micallef’s fields to collect CCTV footage, they discovered that the decoder had been switched off. 

'I fired a shot at him'

As the officers were about to seize the device, they noted that Micallef was rather nervous and began to behave “strangely”, telling them that, on the day of the incident, he had gone out to hunt rabbits.

That discrepancy in the farmer’s version attracted suspicion and Micallef was called in for double questioning, explained Zahra.

During the second interrogation, Micallef allegedly confessed to the shooting, telling police that he had issues with Ciantar and “could take it no more”.

“I fired a shot at him,” the man allegedly said.

A couple of days after the incident, Micallef was arraigned and was denied bail after pleading not guilty to attempted murder, grievous bodily harm and possession of a firearm while committing an offence against the person.

After the victim testified on Thursday, the defence requested bail, pointing out that the accused had cooperated with the police and had a good character.

The prosecution objected, mainly in light of the fact that Micallef could approach the victim’s home.

Magistrate Nadine Lia granted the accused bail under the strict condition of not approaching the area where the shooting took place.

The court also issued a protection order in favour of Ciantar and his family, while granting Micallef bail against a deposit of €10,000, a personal guarantee of €20,000, signing of the bail book and under a curfew. 

The case continues in October.

Inspector Roderick Attard also prosecuted, assisted by AG lawyers Kaylie Bonnet and Nathaniel Falzon. Lawyers Stephen Tonna Lowell and Hugh Peralta are defence counsel.