A wanted man, whose arrest at a Gżira lido on Sunday was captured on footage that was widely shared on social media, was denied bail upon arraignment on Tuesday. 

Nikola Vujkovic, a 33-year-old Serbian national who has been working in Malta as a cab driver, was wanted by the police since allegedly fleeing the scene of a violent fight in Marsascala in February. 

A Maltese man allegedly suffered grievous injuries during that fight which took place at a commercial establishment in Triq ix-Xatt on February 17 at around 10.35am.

On Sunday, the police were alerted to the presence of the wanted man at a lido in Gżira.

A number of officers from the Rapid Intervention Unit rushed to the scene, triggering a reaction by the man who tried to get away upon sensing police presence. 

As officers zeroed in on their target, the man put up a struggle, as he twisted and turned while the police tried to pin him to the ground. 

The scene was captured on video.

On Tuesday, the man, his right foot in a cast and right hand bandaged, walked slowly into court under heavy escort to face charges over both February’s and Sunday’s incidents.

Prosecuting Inspector Darryl Farr informed the court that information from Interpol indicated that the man was wanted in Serbia for alleged involvement in the possession or manufacture of illegal firearms and explosives. 

He allegedly fled his homeland using a false passport bearing Croatian nationality.

On Tuesday, the man was charged with grievously injuring his alleged victim during last February’s fight, as well as wilfully disturbing the public peace. 

He was also charged with being in possession of a false passport and with supplying police with false details at Mile End, Triq P. Xuereb, Ħamrun on March 5 afternoon. 

Finally, he was charged with assaulting, threatening and violently resisting four police officers involved in his arrest on Sunday, slightly injuring them and refusing to obey legitimate orders.

He was additionally charged with breaching the peace and being found in possession of a false passport. 

The accused pleaded not guilty.

His lawyers, Edmond Cuschieri and Rachel Tua, requested bail which was objected to by the prosecution. 

However, the man’s lawyers pointed out that the alleged fight at Marsascala had taken place over four months ago and was captured on video.

The alleged fear of tampering with evidence, flagged by the prosecution, was, therefore, unreal. 

Moreover, the accused had been living in Malta lawfully and had passed all due diligence checks carried out by Identity Malta. 

The man’s lawyers also pointed out that the police had used excessive force in restraining the accused during Sunday’s poolside arrest and the man ended up suffering a fractured leg and sprained wrist.

For this reason, the defence requested the court to appoint a medico-legal expert to examine the accused and assess the extent of his grievous injuries. 

The court, presided over by magistrate Josette Demicoli, upheld this request and appointed a forensic doctor to examine the accused.

The court also upheld a request by lawyers Michael Sciriha and Matthew Xuereb to be admitted as parte civile, representing the alleged victim in February’s incident. 

A request for a protection order in favour of that alleged victim and his family members was also upheld by the court. 

The court turned down the request for bail and remanded the man in custody.