Guilty of attempted injury charge

A Birkirkara man was yesterday given a six-month jail term suspended for two years for trying to seriously injure a man four years ago.

Josef Dimech, 33, was found guilty of trying to injure Francis Cuschieri when he fired a shotgun in his direction in Birkirkara on July 15, 1999, at about 4.45 p.m.

Dimech was also found guilty of keeping and carrying the shotgun and ammunition without a licence and at the time of the commission of the crime, firing the gun within less than 200 metres of a residential area and breaching the peace.

Magistrate Joseph Cassar heard how Cuschieri met with Paul Kavanagh, Dimech's relative, who owed him Lm10 for drugs and a fight broke out.

Kavanagh went to Dimech's house and the two men went to Cuschieri's house where they had an argument and then left.

But when later on that day Cuschieri went near Dimech's house, Dimech grabbed his shotgun and fired it at Cuschieri.

On handing down judgment Magistrate Cassar noted that Dimech had a clean criminal record.

Police Inspectors Carmelo Bartolo and Simon Galea prosecuted.