A Gozitan man with a long criminal record was back in court on Saturday to face charges of having resisted police officers who were tasked with searching his restaurant. 

Paschalino Cefai, 42 and from Żebbuġ, Gozo, appeared in the Gozo law courts to plead not guilty to having violently resisted arrest, insulted police officers, failing to respect bail conditions and being a recidivist. 

The incident began on Friday, when officers turned up at Cefai’s restaurant while he was cooking in the kitchen and told him that they had instructions to search the property. 

Officers reportedly told Cefai to get down on his knees as they intended to handcuff him first. At that point, Cefai is alleged to have become violent and tried to bite one of the officers. He was tased, subdued and arrested for having resisted the police’s orders. 

The search of his property yielded nothing illegal. 

Cefai’s lawyers requested bail for their client, noting that he was innocent until proven guilty and that Cefai’s business had struggled due to COVID-19. Cefai had apologised to officers for his behaviour, they said, attributing it to the stress and surprise of seeing police as he was trying to earn a living. 

The prosecution objected to bail, noting Cefai’s long criminal history and breach of bail conditions. Cefai is notorious in police circles, having been jailed previously for stabbing someone in a courtroom and for attacking a magistrate in another courtroom, among other crimes. 

But magistrate Brigitte Sultana peppered the prosecution with questions about the procedure officers had used when carrying out the search, noting that there were five officers present and asking if it was necessary to handcuff him and place him on his knees before the search was carried out. 

The court granted Cefai bail against a €4,000 deposit and €20,000 personal guarantee. Cefai must sign a bail book once a week. 

Cefai was represented by Franco Debono and Francesca Zarb. The prosecution was led by Inspector Justine Grech.