A "well mannered" 26-year-old man accused of double attempted murder sliced deep enough into a man's neck to sever his muscle during a massive brawl outside a Paceville bar, a court heard yesterday.

The young man, Anthony Bartolo, a carpenter from Qormi, sat in the dock expressionless at the start of a trial which could see him thrown in prison for up to 30 years.

The proceedings got off to a bumpy start when most of the witnesses failed to turn up. Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono, who went ahead with the trial despite having a family funeral in the afternoon, issued arrest warrants against them.

The accused allegedly inflicted a long, deep wound in the neck of his first victim Darryl Borg in the brawl outside Paceville's then Bamboo bar, on August 10, 2004.

He went on to slash Clint Mangion's neck and Pierre Micallef's hand. It all happened in a matter of minutes. But it was only a fragment of a massive fight between two groups of young men from Qormi and Birkirkara, according to Police Inspector Charles Magri.

Nine other men who had been arraigned separately in connection with the fight had all been acquitted after they refused to testify against each other.

Describing Mr Bartolo as well mannered, Inspector Magri told the court that the accused threw the knife into St George's Bay and then showed the police where it landed but efforts to retrieve it proved fruitless.

The accused fully cooperated with the police and actually helped close the investigation, the inspector testified.

In the statement he had given to the police, Mr Bartolo said he did not mean to injure Mr Borg so badly but only wanted to lacerate him.

When the police asked why he had been carrying a knife that evening, Mr Bartolo said he had once been the victim of a beating and carried it as a precaution, making a habit of it.

He did not know why the fight broke out but he had been removed from the club by bouncers when a lot of people were asked to leave because of the brawl which had started inside the club.

When he asked his brother what had happened he told him that it all started because a group had been taunting a friend of theirs.

While outside the club, he continued, a fat man held him by the arms while three or four others kicked and punched him. His hands were still free and he managed to pull his knife out to free himself.

The attacks followed from that point on.

Head of the Prosecution Unit at the Attorney General's Office lawyer Anthony Barbara prosecuted.

Lawyers Joseph Giglio and Robert Abela appeared for Mr Bartolo.

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