Updated 5.38pm with LPOA statement

A taxi driver who was beaten to the ground on Tuesday night by a Y-plate competitor hopes action will be taken against the perpetrator “because you cannot just go out to work one day and end up like this”.

Anthony Spiteri, 65, found himself up against “Cassius Clay” when he was “minding his own business” and seeing to his clients in Ċirkewwa, he said in a blow-by-blow account as he left hospital the morning after.

During what he claims was an unprovoked altercation, Spiteri, who described himself as a “typically small Maltese man”, was punched in the head, ending up knocked out, face down on the ground, splattered in blood, at the Gozo Channel terminal, while his aggressor fled the scene.

Spiteri spent the night in Mater Dei hospital and was left with a “nose the size of a ball”, swollen eyes, which are still shut, and very bruised. 

Anthony Spiteri, 65, after he was assaulted.

“I am not a young boy,” he said. “And even so… this is not right.”

Recounting the “horrible incident”, Spiteri, from Għargħur, said he had just dropped off regular clients at Ċirkewwa in his white taxi when he was approached by an Italian tourist, who enquired about a ride to Birkirkara. 

As she went to call the rest of her family, she was approached by a Bolt driver, he claims.

Spiteri crossed the road to ask if everything was OK and said the Y-plate driver just “exploded”.

He claims he was assailed with insults and verbal abuse by the driver, whom he said he did not even speak to.

As Spiteri answered back and proceeded to take a photo, the driver came after him, got hold of his neck and began to choke him. 

Spiteri attempted to push him away in self-defence, and said the driver gave him a “straight” between the eyes, knocking him out. He fell to the floor, where he lost consciousness for a few minutes.

“He was a big guy; almost half my age,” Spiteri recounted. “I am your average small guy… Can I fight with Cassius Clay?” he said, referring to Muhammad Ali, the American champion boxer.

“He did not kill me because God did not want me to die,” Spiteri said about the blow “that could have knocked my head off”. 

The victim stumbled to the bathroom, dripping blood and crying, and was assisted by terminal staff, security and the police, before being taken to hospital by ambulance and treated overnight.

Following in-depth examinations of his nose, eyes and ears, he will return next week for further check-ups, he said, weary after the previous night’s ordeal.

'Bad apples'

Spiteri offers a white taxi service together with his son, working the night shifts. While the incident has left an impact on him and he said he is not used to this form of aggression, he could not let the experience stop him from carrying on.

“My son was obviously upset. I just told him to be careful.

“We have come to extremes… You have to bow your head and cannot talk,” he said about the “bad apples” in the industry, who have “taken over” and have the power to do as they please.

The situation on the “overloaded” roads has become difficult, he acknowledged.

“But I cannot be afraid. Life cannot stop as I have a family to support,” he continued. “What is important is that the necessary steps are taken against this one-off incident for the sake of my fellow colleagues too.”

In a statement, Bolt said it would "cooperate with the police in every way" but it could not comment on the details of the incident as they are part of an ongoing police investigation.

The police on Wednesday confirmed the incident, backed also by an eyewitness account, and said they were investigating and working to identify the alleged aggressor.

The Light Passenger Operators Association extended its sympathy to Spiteri and urged authorities to identity the perpetrator and bring him to justice.

"LPOA condemns all forms of violence, particularly violence towards any operators, workers as well as service providers," it said in a statement, adding that it was willing to provide "any possible assistance to ensure that justice is carried out."