Spurned man jailed for injuring girl

A 22-year-old man was yesterday jailed for three years for kicking and smashing a glass in the face of a beauty pageant contestant after she rejected him in a Paceville bar.

Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani Grima ruled that even though Jesmar Abela had a clean criminal record, he deserved to be imprisoned for his actions that had been violent, savage and unjustified.

The magistrate heard Donna Evans explain that on May 13, 2001 she was at Footloose bar with her two friends when Abela grabbed her and she told him not to do it again.

He started swearing at her and then kicked her in the knee. She lost her balance and fell backwards and that was when she saw Abela charge at her with a glass which he smashed in her face. He also bit her on the shoulder.

Evans explained that at the time she was a contestant in Miss Maltese Islands pageant and was forced to drop out of the contest because of the injuries to her face.

The magistrate heard how Evans had to have stitches on her lip, a front tooth had been knocked out and other teeth had been damaged or fractured.

The magistrate also heard Abela deny Evans' version of the events. He said he was at the bar when she approached him and hit him. He denied hitting her.

Abela's friends, Taddeo Scicluna and Raymond Fenech, who were at the bar at the time, backed up his version.

However, after evaluating the evidence the magistrate noted that Evans' version was more credible, more consistent and was corroborated by the injuries she had suffered.

The magistrate jailed Abela for three years and ordered the Attorney General to investigate Scicluna and Fenech for perjury.

Police Inspector Pierre Micallef Grimaud prosecuted.