Updated: 6.40pm
The massive Ħamrun brawl that broke out in open daylight on Thursday was apparently triggered by an argument over a suspected house robbery, the court heard on Saturday.
One of the men involved in the street fight was 30-year old Syrian national Abdullah Sheikh Ahmad, from Mosta, who pleaded not guilty to grievously injuring another man by striking him on the head with a wooden stick.
When police turned up at his home to execute an arrest warrant, the suspect was not there but he later turned up at the police station, accompanied by his lawyer, the court was told.
This afternoon, the man was also charged with carrying a knife without the necessary police licence, breaching the public peace, insulting and threatening a number of individuals, joining a group of more than ten persons with the intention of committing a crime, as well as failing to obey legitimate police orders.
The alleged victim, wearing a plaster over his right eye, turned up in court to give his version of the incident since he was expected to travel out of Malta in the coming days and would not be able to testify in the proceedings.
He explained how it all started on Sunday when he returned home from a barbecue to find the place ransacked and several items, including cash and his daughter’s mobile phone, missing.
The incident was allegedly captured on security cameras.
On Thursday he headed to Hamrun to a shop where the accused’s cousin worked.
He suspected the man of involvement in the theft and hoped to resolve the matter amicably.
But after he got there the accused suddenly turned up in his van, accompanied by four other men who turned upon the alleged victim and assaulted him.
The situation escalated into a massive brawl on St Joseph High Road.
The man working at the accused’s shop and a police sergeant also suffered slight injuries.
When cross-examining the witness, defence lawyer Arthur Azzopardi pointed out that CCTV footage from the scene of the incident showed a different picture of the incident, warning the witness about the consequences of lying under oath.
The alleged victim insisted that he had never intended to trigger a fight and as for the alleged theft, he had not filed a police report simply because he had hoped to settle the matter amicably.
The defence then made a request for bail, arguing that the accused had been living in Malta for nine years and had never any brush with the law.
Moreover, on Thursday he had acted in self-defence when stepping in to protect his employee at the shop.
After hearing submissions the court, presided over by magistrate Noel Bartolo, turned down the request in view of the risk of tampering with evidence.
A second man, who allegedly injured another Syrian national with a sharp and pointed weapon, is expected to be arraigned on Sunday.
Eleven other persons, allegedly involved in the brawl, are expected to face charges at a later date for breaching the public peace and disobeying police orders.
Inspector Roderick Spiteri prosecuted.
Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Jacob Magri were defence counsel.