A man unloading his family’s holiday luggage shoved an elderly neighbour to the ground after he complained about his van being poorly parked, a court has found.

Mario Dingli had just returned from an August break in Gozo when he ended up arguing with his neighbour outside his Gudja home, where he had parked his van while unloading the family luggage. 

The argument began after his neighbour’s daughter had knocked on his door and asked him to move his van as it was partly blocking the road and making it difficult for her to load her own car.

As the woman’s father went outside to check on his daughter, an argument allegedly broke out between the two men, resulting in the 68-year old neighbour falling backwards and hitting the wall.

The man ended up with a fractured arm while his alleged aggressor vanished out of sight in the ensuing commotion, as relatives of the victim called the police and sought medical assistance.

Mr Dingli was charged with grievously injuring his neighbour, insulting and threatening him as well as breaching the public peace.

Several relatives of both the alleged victim and aggressor testified about the incident. Yet none of them had actually witnessed the moment when the two men had stepped close to each other.

The court, presided over by magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit, observed that the parties had given contrasting versions.

Mr Dingli said that his neighbour had headed towards him with fists clenched and that he had only been acting in self-defence when he pushed his hands against the man’s chest. He said he did not know how the neighbour had ended up on the ground.

The alleged victim had claimed that Mr Dingli had struck him on the chest, causing him to fall backwards against the wall.

Faced with these versions, the court concluded that the victim had been consistent and genuine in his account, thus being judged as more credible.

How could the accused claim not to know how the victim fell down if he had been facing him, questioned the court. 

Moreover, if the accused had nothing to fear, why did he rush away from the scene rather than offer his elderly neighbour a helping hand as he lay injured on the ground, the court asked.

The victim’s version was more convincing, said the court. It declared the accused guilty of the grievous injury while clearing him of the other charges and condemned him to a one-year jail term suspended for two years. 

Inspector Carol Fabri prosecuted.
Lawyer Jason Azzopardi appeared parte civile.