Three brothers guilty of beating up man in Victoria

Three brothers from Victoria were found guilty of beating up a Nadur man, causing permanent damage to his eye.

Two were fined Lm300 and the third was given a 13-month jail term suspended for two years in view of a series of past contraventions.

The case goes back to August 2002 when the three brothers - Mario Azzopardi, 30, Martin, 32, and John, 28 - beat up Joseph Portelli in Victoria's main square. The fight took place at the market where both the victim and Mario Azzopardi work.

The victim had testified the brothers attacked him for no apparent reason. He said he was punched and kicked repeatedly, even after falling to the ground.

He said he had had a problem with Mario and Martin Azzopardi a year earlier. At one point, John and Martin Azzopardi had stopped hitting him but Mario Azzopardi continued beating him at the back of the head, the victim had testified.

Another witness had testified he had seen Mario Azzopardi punch the victim repeatedly in the face.

The accused gave a different version of the events, saying the victim had attacked Mario Azzopardi and that John had tried to stop them while Martin had nothing to do with the matter.

In her judgment, Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera said she felt the evidence produced by the prosecution was more credible.

In handing down judgment, the magistrate took into account the fact Martin and John Azzopardi had a clean record sheet while Mario Azzopardi had 13 contraventions.