Accused of killing man with mallet

A 25-year-old Syrian was yesterday charged with the murder of a conational, by repeatedly hitting him on the head with a mallet on Sunday night.

Ebrahem Alhamow, who is known as Ibrahim Alhmou, was arraigned last night and charged with the murder of Syrian Ismail Ebdou.

Mr Ebdou's body was found in his van down a rocky hillside in Selmun on Monday.

Mr Alhmou, who said he was a tile layer of no fixed address, was also charged with causing over Lm500 damage to the victim's van to the detriment of his heirs.

After Mr Alhmou confirmed that he understood Maltese, the charges were read out and he pleaded not guilty. His lawyer Mark Busuttil then moved on to request bail.

Dr Busuttil argued that the prosecution had laid down the charges in a "draconian way" as they suggested his client had planned the crime.

But, his client, he added, was categorically denying his involvement and, up till that stage, he was innocent until proven guilty.

The lawyer added that his client had a clean criminal record, except for a minor offence, and had been living in Malta for about four years.

He, therefore, had no intention of absconding but wanted to clear his name.

Superintendent Antonello Grech, who was prosecuting with Inspector Christopher Pullicino, objected to the granting of bail.

The prosecution argued that this was a very serious crime, punishable by life imprisonment. Therefore, there existed a real fear that the accused would abscond.

Apart from this, the accused had no fixed address and was not easily traceable if granted bail.

After hearing the submissions, Magistrate Doreen Clarke turned down the request for bail for the reasons outlined by the prosecution and because there was the risk that Mr Alhmou would tamper with evidence. Mr Alhmou was remanded in custody.