Judges confirm 12-year jail term

The Court of Criminal Appeal has confirmed a judgment in which a man was jailed for 12 years for causing the death of a young Gozitan man and seriously injuring his friend when he hit them in the neck with a broken bottle.

Jurors had found Anthony Schembri guilty, by six votes to three, of seriously injuring 27-year-old Stephen Sam Portelli with the bottle and causing his death in Paceville on the night of October 27, 2001.

Jurors also returned an eight to one verdict finding Mr Schembri guilty of seriously injuring Carm James Grech, who was then 17, with the same bottle.

In both cases, the jurors found that Mr Schembri had acted under the influence of sudden passion and in a state of mental agitation.

During the four-day trial, jurors heard that the incident started at Insomnia bar, in Paceville, where Mr Schembri was punched in the eye during an argument.

When Mr Schembri left the bar he spotted the Gozitans who had been involved in the argument inside the bar. He first noticed Mr Portelli, grabbed a bottle from the ground and hit him with it, seriously injuring him in the neck.

He then hit Mr Grech with the same bottle and also injured him in the neck.

Despite several surgical interventions, Mr Portelli died on November 9, 2001.

Mr Schembri was jailed for 12 years.

He appealed, claiming that the punishment was excessive in the circumstances and when one took into account the fact that he faced a jail term ranging between four years and 13 years and four months.

On evaluating the appeal, the Court of Criminal Appeal, presided over by Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano, Mr Justice David Scicluna and Mr Justice Joseph Micallef, noted that this was a case where one young man lost his life and another almost did.

"Schembri's gratuitous aggression... and his use of an object - a broken bottle - with which he could cause great damage to the two young men he wanted to pay back, are two circumstances that ought to bear considerable weight on the punishment," the court noted.

The court saw "absolutely no reason" why it should alter the judgment handed down by the first court and confirmed the 12-year jail term.

Lawyers José Herrera and Franco Debono appeared for Mr Schembri.