Amended: Jury acquits three of attempted murder charge

Amends reference to considerations by the court

George Gatt, Louise Zahra and her husband Anthony Zahra were this afternoon acquitted by a jury of the attempted murder of their neighbour Stephen Sultana in an incident in September 2001.

The verdict was reached by seven votes to two.

The jurors, however, found them guilty of accidental affray, having played a part in a fight in which Mr Sultana was seriously injured.

Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono said before hearing pleas on punishment that the accused faced up to three months in prison.

Defence lawyer Raphael Fenech Adami asked the court to consider the fact that Mr Gatt was a very sick man, a diabetic in a wheelchair who had to take two injections a day and was coming and going to hospital.

Roberto Montalto, defence counsel for the Zahras, told the court that it was evident from the verdict that the jurors did not believe Mr Sultana's testimony. He asked the court to appreciate the fact that they had been waiting for seven years with possibly 30 years imprisonment hanging over their head because of this incident.

Mr Justice Galea Debono after considering the criminal record of the accused, sentenced Mr Gatt to three months in prison and Anthony Zahra to two months in prison.

Louise Zahra was given a two month prison sentence suspended for four years in view of her relatively clean conduct sheet and the fact that she is an advanced stage of pregnancy.

The accused were ordered to pay court costs.