A man who turned himself in to Rabat police has pleaded not guilty to the New Year's Day murder of Eric Borg. 

Noel Azzopardi, 39 and unemployed, filed his plea on Wednesday afternoon when he was arraigned before Magistrate Monica Vella. 

He stands accused of the wilful homicide of Borg, using a firearm to commit a crime, firing a gun within 200 metres of an urban area and not ensuring that his gun and ammunition were kept in a secure place inside his home. 

His lawyers told the court they were not contesting the validity of their client's arrest at this stage. They made it clear that Azzopardi has a history of psychiatric treatment and told the court they wanted Azzopardi's medical records, especially those related to Mount Carmel Hospital, presented in court. 

Azzopardi, who remained standing throughout the arraignment, needed to have questions simplified and repeated to him before providing answers. 

Azzopardi was arrested when he turned himself in at the Rabat police station just as officers started a manhunt after they discovered Borg, 27, bleeding from two gunshot wounds on a pavement in Rabat. 

Inspector Wayne Camilleri told the court that on January 1, at around 3.30pm the police received a report that two shots had been fired and a man was lying on the ground in Triq il-Fidloqqom, Rabat. The man, Eric Borg, was dead.

Eric Borg was found bleeding on a pavement in Rabat. He died at the scene. Photo: Facebook

Police officers quickly identified the accused as a key person of interest in the case, Camilleri said.

Before officers could arrest him, at around 5.15pm, Azzopardi turned up at the Rabat police station with some relatives and told officers he was the person who killed Borg. Azzopardi was read his legal rights and put under arrest. 

The prosecution did not provide any details about a motive during the arraignment. 

Aside from inspector Camilleri, inspector Godwin Scerri and Attorney General lawyer Kaylie Bonett also prosecuted the case. 

Azzopardi is being represented by lawyers Arthur Azzopardi, Jacob Magri and Alex Miruzzi. 

His lawyers did not request bail but told the court they were releasing Mount Carmel Hospital staff from their obligation of professional secrecy, to allow them to speak to the director of Corradino prison and allow him to decide whether Azzopardi should be held there or at the Attard hospital.