A restaurateur who spit at and punched the author of a critical Facebook post was conditionally discharged by a magistrate on Tuesday. 

It all began when the victim went for lunch with two friends at Herman Bonaci’s restaurant in Iklin in December 2020, two days before New Year’s Eve.

They first complained about the allocated table, then about a soft drink and a cocktail and later also about the food. At the end of the meal, the three friends settled the bill and left.

But the following day the victim, a transgender man posted a message on the restaurant’s Facebook page, complaining about the service and the food.

The next day, Bonaci, 57, tracked the message author to a Sta Venera charity shop.

Bonaci spat at his face then punched him on the face, whilst hurling verbal abuse, the court was told.

The victim, shaken by the unexpected assault, later reported the incident at the police Domestic Violence Unit.

Bonaci was prosecuted for allegedly causing slight injuries, further aggravated by gender violence, insulting the transgender victim as well as the lesser contravention of insults and threats.

He later testified in court, expressing remorse for his behaviour and explaining that he had been going through a difficult patch at the time on account of a family illness.

The victim, on the other hand, denied that he had sent the complaint as a mise-en-scene to purposely trigger an incident with the accused.

A doctor who examined the victim at the Floriana health centre confirmed that facial injuries were slight and that the patient had high blood pressure at the time. 

When delivering judgment, Magistrate Nadine Lia observed that such behaviour by Bonaci was “condemnable, not appropriate and certainly not normal nor professional when facing work-related criticism.”

However, the court was convinced that the primary reason why Bonaci had sought the victim was not because of his gender identity but because of the Facebook message he had posted.

The court thus found Bonaci guilty of slightly injuring the victim but not of the aggravated charge.

The second charge was not sufficiently proved and the third charge was time-barred.

When meting out punishment the court noted the accused’s clean record and the fact that he was sorry for his actions and consequently conditionally discharged him for eight months.

Inspector Audrey Micallef prosecuted.