A man who stabbed his elderly cousin in a “most savage” attack has been handed a five-year jail term.

He was spared a greater punishment after an age-based aggravation was deleted, possibly due to a legislative oversight.

The matter was flagged by a magistrate presiding over criminal proceedings against Raymond Debono who was charged with the attempted murder of his 74-year-old cousin one September afternoon in 2019.

Tensions appeared to have been long simmering between the parties.

But that day, while the elderly man was walking down an alley on the way to his son’s house in Gharghur, he went past the accused’s residence in Sqaq il-Warda.

Debono was outside on the doorstep and as his cousin made his way down, he suddenly went after him, drew a penknife out of his shorts pocket and stabbed the victim on the chest and stomach.

The incident was caught on CCTV footages.

Something suddenly flashed in Debono’s hand as he attacked his elderly relative who slumped to the ground where he was then kicked by his aggressor.

Debono later testified that the two had long been at loggerheads over some family property and that his cousin would spit at him whenever they crossed paths.

In fact, he claimed to have filed several police reports, one just days before the incident.

That afternoon, Debono claimed to have been waiting for the family cat to come back indoors when he caught sight of his relative making a gesture as though “to blow his nose.”

“Darkness came over me,” the accused later explained, adding that he was sorry but “just could not take it anymore.”

His lawyer argued that the aggression was provoked.

However, the court, presided over by magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, after analyzing all evidence put forward, concluded that there was no provocation whatsoever.

The footage corroborated the version given by the victim who recounted how the accused had gone after him, threatening “I’ll kill you” before he whipped out his penknife and stabbed him repeatedly.

At no point did the victim approach his aggressor or even turn to look his way nor made any gesture, observed the court.

Moreover, the court questioned why the accused had been carrying the weapon when he had supposedly been waiting for the cat rather than working in the fields or helping to manufacture fireworks.

Blood was splattered on the road further down from the accused’s home, indicating that he had gone after the victim.

There was no doubt as to the grievous nature of the injuries which were confirmed as “life-threatening” by medical professionals who testified in the case.

The victim needed surgery since the stab wounds had punctured his abdomen, causing “evisceration of the intestines” which were also perforated.

It took him six weeks to recover fully and he only made it thanks to the successful surgery, observed the court.

The attack was undoubtedly premeditated, carried out “in the bat of an eyelid.”

When meting out punishment the court took note of the fact that the police had confirmed that the accused had “never caused trouble” and that his criminal record showed only one offence dating back 23 years.

But violence can never be tolerated and a clear message had to be sent out, remarked the Magistrate.

The courts were to act as a shield against such behaviour whereby the accused let “his most basic and inhuman instincts” take over.

For this reason, the court declared him guilty and condemned him to a five-year effective jail term, remarking that an increase of one or two degrees, formerly provided for under article 222A(1) of the Criminal Code could not be applied.

That provision used to cover cases where violence was inflicted upon a person aged 60 and over or a vulnerable person unable to defend himself/herself.

When the legislator amended the Criminal Code last year by means of Act LXV, that article was somehow abolished, either knowingly or mistakenly, without at least introducing transitory provisions, observed Magistrate Frendo Dimech.

For this reason, the court ordered that a copy of the judgment was to be delivered to the Justice Minister, the Attorney General and the Law Commissioner.

As for the accused, he was further ordered to compensate his victim €4,000 and to pay €20,922.66 in court expert expenses.

He was also placed under a 3-year restraining order and banned from having a weapons’ licence for two years.

Superintendent Keith Arnaud and Inspector Roderick Spiteri prosecuted.