'The robbers threatened to cut off my fingers'

It was his engagement in a "battle of the wits"- even feigning heart attack and concussion - with his three gun-wielding aggressors that saw Labour MP and surgeon Anthony Zammit survive a two-hour-long, violent robbery at his Żebbuġ home in the early hours of Tuesday.

In between being beaten and gagged and having a sawn-off shotgun menacingly pointed at his forehead, Mr Zammit told The Times he managed to keep his wits about him and play a mind game that allowed him to gather information on his aggressors, including the name and nickname of two, which he even addressed them by during the attack.

The three men have been captured on CCTV footage entering Mr Zammit's house, bang in Żebbuġ's main San Filep Square, with a key - it takes them a mere 40 seconds to get in, he says.

One is even seen going back out to fetch his carnival mask from the nearby car 15 minutes later, and the three are caught exiting two hours after, in which time, they beat Mr Zammit and even threatened to cut off his toes and fingers.

He recalls them asking him: "What shall we start with?"

Mr Zammit maintains the robbers were commissioned by whoever got hold of his house key - four people have it, each of whom he trusts blindly, and he recently also handed the bunch to a fifth trusted person. Either one of these betrayed him, or the key was taken from them and copied without them knowing, he believes.

It was not a simple key and Mr Zammit thinks an ID card is required to cut a copy.

"It must have been someone who knows me and got hold of my key. He commissioned the whole thing... The question is who gave it to them?"

Blow by blow - in the literal sense of the words - a soft-spoken Mr Zammit recounts his traumatising ordeal in detail, sitting in his cluttered, cool courtyard, a supposed haven, right on the town's busy pjazza and hardly a dodgy location.

It is probably only quiet between 2 a.m. and 4, when the neighbouring bar opens for tea, and the house is also right next to a BOV bank, with CCTV cameras scouring the area. In fact, the robbers did not take into account that St Philips Bar would be open when they left and the third is seen retreating into the house when he notices.

Today, Mr Zammit questions the security of his home of 23 years as he lights one cigarette after another, always, however, retaining his composure. It was probably that same calm frame of mind that saved him.

"By keeping my calm, I also kept the robbers calm. When an aggressor is excited, he cannot account for what he is going to do...

"To a certain extent, I think I won that battle. Had I panicked, I do not know how it would have ended. It is the brain that has to work at that point. You cannot do anything with your body.

"The robbers were not confronted with the normal reaction. Maybe my profession helped me not to panic under stress. They were expecting me to retaliate, so I disarmed them and they had to think afresh.

"I called the guy by name and told him that if he did not shoot me, I was going to die of a heart attack and they would be blamed anyway," a bruised and tired Mr Zammit recalls.

Although one of his aggressors actually fetched the tablet and patch he requested when feigning a heart attack, there were moments when Mr Zammit was convinced they would go all the way and kill him.

He feared most for his life when one of the assailants actually stood on his neck, while the other stuffed a shirt into his mouth, which he tried to resist with his tongue, and held his nose. "It was not a big foot - about size 38," he recalls. But the suffocating pain was unbearable.

At that point, he thought: "Now, I am going. I felt I could not breathe... But because I was so sweaty, my nose slipped his grip and I took a deep breath."

Another bad moment was when one of the aggressors was moving a revolver against his body. "At one point, he put it in a pillow and I heard him charge it - it was a strange noise and I thought he was going to shoot," he shivers at the thought.

The constant blows, even with the shotgun, resulted in two black eyes, and other facial injuries: Mr Zammit points to two bumps on his head; an abrasion over his right ear, preventing him from opening his mouth properly; and "quite a serious skull fracture" on the left of his face to the base of the orbit of his eye. The rest of his body is bruised and he hobbles to the door to lock up before taking a nap.

Another cigarette and Mr Zammit recalls the sequence of events of that fateful night. He arrived home from dinner at St Paul's Bay at 2.10 a.m.... It was 2.30 a.m. when he set his alarm clock, after feeding the cat... Around 20 minutes later, when he was just dosing off, he awoke to find two men on either side, and another sitting on his chest, gagging him, telling him to keep quiet and that they were after the money.

"I thought it was the cat at first... I hear well, but I did not hear a single thing that time...

"I am sure they expected me to be there... Looking back, I am certain they did not know the layout of the house, yet they came straight onto me, according to the time interval. The ceiling fan must have led them to think I was in my room."

Mr Zammit did not resist - another move he claims contributed to his survival. He was forced to turn round and his hands and feet were bound by his own ties, and later, even tighter by the lampshade wire.

"I told them the only money I had was on the chest of drawers in two elastic bands, ready to be deposited the next day."

But he was not believed and more money was requested - to the tune of €23,000 and harsh kicking and hitting. He could only answer: "Do you think I keep that kind of money at home?

"One of them said he saw me going in and out of the bank on several occasions, but I told him I go to deposit money."

Mr Zammit was gagged with a stocking and his bedroom ransacked. "I was asked if I was alone in the house and I told them I was."

One of the robbers stayed with him, while the other went looking through the house, he says, recalling their attire - "I did not have my contact lenses on." One had a balaclava, and the other was wearing a carnival mask of an old man, but he cannot describe the third.

In the end, they stole about €1,200, some wristwatches and a signet ring with diamonds. But Mr Zammit is not too sure, or even bothered at this stage. He has not yet gone through what else could be missing.

"In one room, there is a big plastic bag with silver, but it must have torn and he panicked, taking a bit and leaving the rest."

The coup de grâce before leaving was a heavy blow - "full of hatred" - to his thighs, one on one side and three on the other, with the butt of the sawn-off shotgun. "He wanted to break my thigh. Had it been an old lady, or someone not as strong, he would have managed.

"When they left the room, I was lying across the bed, purposely breathing extremely shallowly and sighing at intervals, faking concussion," Mr Zammit demonstrates. "I am sure they spent about three minutes in the adjacent study, waiting to see how I was going to react."

He is confident the perpetrators of the crime will be caught - the police have already questioned a number of people, but Mr Zammit has not been called to identify anyone, though he claims he would recognise them from their voice and stature.

They are definitely not locals, he maintains. "I told them: surely you are not children of San Filep. I am quite known here. I am also the honorary president of the band club and have good relations with the others."

The fact that his aggressors are still on the loose does worry him - not just for himself, but also for those who may be in danger of experiencing what he did.

"I am recounting my story to express solidarity with all those who have been through what I have and those who may be the victims in the future.

"We push the elderly to stay at home. As a consultant surgeon, I discharge patients and encourage them to go home because their surroundings help them recover. Now, I feel I am sending them into the mouth of these culprits.

"Civil society needs to be protected. I have already spoken to the local council to set up cameras at strategic points. We should look after our elderly community, with police patrols and checks."

Mr Zammit's injuries are not only physical. "When I go to bed, I cannot sleep; I wake up looking at the doors to see if somebody is there.

"Nevertheless, I want to be alone to face my fears. People have offered to sleep over, but I want to go through this personally... I think if I do not do that, I could start hating the house."

Mr Zammit, who operated on former Opposition leader Alfred Sant last December, is used to opening his door to people and examining them.

"In spite of all, I think I will try to remain the same because people need help. I plan to go back to work by Tuesday. I'm not the type to take a break."