Jurors in an attempted murder trial yesterday heard two conflicting versions of events that led up to one man suffering stab wounds and another charged with stabbing him.

Gordon Calleja told them that Louis Mallia, who is standing trial for his attempted murder, stabbed him in the neck and chest for no apparent reason.

But, in contrast, Mr Mallia testified that it was Mr Calleja who first assaulted him with a knife because he (Mr Calleja) claimed he was owed money.

Mr Calleja was the first of the two to give evidence before Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono in the trial by jury of Mr Mallia, 39, of Valletta.

Mr Mallia - known as Il-Lalu - is pleading not guilty to trying to kill Mr Calleja by stabbing him and the illegal possession of a penknife at City Gate, Valletta, on September 30, 2004.

Mr Calleja said that on the day in question he went to Valletta with his wife at about 6 p.m. They parked in Freedom Square and he went to buy cigarettes from City Gate while his wife waited in their van.

He met Mr Mallia and told him not to knock at his house again. He explained that a few days earlier Mr Mallia's brother had turned up at his house to speak to him and asked for a person's telephone number. As he spoke to him, he noticed Mr Mallia and another man hiding in the vicinity.

Mr Calleja said that when he told Mr Mallia not to go to his house, Mr Mallia started swearing and insulting him. They then parted ways and he headed back towards Freedom Square where his wife was waiting.

"As I was on my way back to the van, he came running up to me and told me: 'I want to hit you with this'... He approached me from the side and hit me on the neck... He had a pen knife in his hand," Mr Calleja said. He went on to add that Mr Mallia then stabbed him twice in the chest after which he brandished the knife around and hit him in several areas.

"I grabbed him from his hair and kept him away from me and told him I'd let him go if he dropped the penknife. Then my wife came out of the van and started telling me to let go because I would bleed to death... When I let go he ran off and shouted: 'Now go to hospital'," Mr Calleja recounted.

His wife took him to a health centre from where an ambulance took him to hospital where he spent seven days.

Under cross examination he said he did not know why Mr Mallia had assaulted him. "I would have never thought that a few words could lead to that," he said.

When asked if he ever took drugs with Mr Mallia he chose not to answer.

Mr Mallia then testified in his defence and told jurors that he got to know Mr Calleja because he used to buy drugs from him from near the hospital detox centre. A few days before the incident he was on his way home with his brother Brian and a friend when his brother stopped near Mr Calleja's house and crossed the road. He waited for his brother and that was it.

On the day of the incident he was at City Gate when Mr Calleja approached him and told him not to go anywhere near his house. He explained that he never went near his house but just passed by with his brother.

Mr Calleja insisted that he owed him Lm50 and Mr Mallia told him that, if he insisted on this, he would go to the police.

Mr Calleja then pulled him from the hair and pulled something out of his pocket. Mr Mallia said he warded off blows and punched Mr Calleja to defend himself, then ran off towards Valletta. He did not recall seeing blood on Mr Calleja. He suffered scratches on his arms due to self defence and also had tufts of hair pulled out.

He denied wanting to, or trying to, kill Mr Calleja.

The trial continues this morning.

Assistant Attorney General Aaron Bugeja is prosecuting.

Lawyer Malcolm Mifsud is defence counsel.