Father, son charged with attempted murder

A father and his son were yesterday charged with slightly injuring the son's estranged wife and with the attempted murder of a man she was with in the early hours of Saturday morning at Paradise Bay.

Clint Zahra, 25, and his father Anġlu, 63, of Rabat, pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of Mark Anthony Casha and slightly injuring the woman.

They were also charged with domestic violence and breaching the peace.

Magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna heard Police Inspector Therese Sciberras, prosecuting, object to the Zahras' request for bail.

She argued that this was a serious case and that, although Mr Casha was in a stable condition, he may have to be operated on for internal bleeding. She also noted that a pen knife had been used during the incident.

Lawyer Giannella Caruana Curran, for the Zahras, explained that her clients were not hardened criminals and the incident occurred because they "caught" Ms Zahra with Mr Casha in a car parked at Paradise Bay. She also noted that it might result that the pen knife belonged to Mr Casha.

On hearing submissions by the two sides, the magistrate rejected the request for bail at this stage because of fears that the accused might tamper with the evidence.

Lawyers Charmaine Cherrett and Franco Debono appeared for the victims.