A 28-year-old Sudanese migrant who died on Tuesday after being punched by a bouncer in Paceville is the same man who eyewitnesses had said they had seen being beaten in Paceville almost a year ago.

Suleiman Ismail Abubaker, who was a migrant with humanitarian protection, went to Paceville on Friday night two weeks ago and was refused entry into a bar because he was drunk. His two French friends were allowed in.

One of the French students accompanying him said in court that the bouncer punched Mr Abubaker, who fell to the ground and hit his head against the pavement. He remained there for a few minutes until he stumbled up and hung on to a signpost, only to be kicked by an unknown person.

He suffered a fractured skull and was taken to hospital in critical condition, according to police sources.

A bouncer, Duncan Deguara, was accused of seriously injuring him but the police sources said new charges are now expected to be pressed against him after Mr Abubaker succumbed to his injuries.

Sources said Mr Abubaker was on his way to being resettled in the US.

The incident echoes another which Mr Abubaker was involved in last June. On the night, he and another immigrant were allegedly beaten by police officers in separate incidents.

Four officers were suspended, and one of them arraigned but the case eventually fell through for lack of evidence.

The court said that after taking into consideration the conflicting evidence of the police officers involved and that of the witnesses it could not find the police officer guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

On that night, Mr Abubaker was also refused entry into a Paceville club.

In an interview with The Times, Mr Abubaker had said the police had intervened after an argument he had with a Libyan man who made fun of him for expecting to be allowed in, seeing he was black. "How can you expect them to let you in when they don't let me in," the man had told him.

The Libyan ran away when the police arrived but Mr Abubaker was pounced on by the police and thrown into their van.

Mr Abubaker later pleaded guilty to assaulting officers and damaging a police van and was handed down a 10-month jail term suspended for two years and fined €300.

Mr Abubaker later explained that he did not know what was happening in court and he did not realise he had filed a guilty plea. "No, no I never said I beat policemen. I never did that."

His legal aid lawyer had not commented on this claim.

When interviewed about the incident, Justice Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici had told The Sunday Times that "maybe the judicial system didn't work the way we want it to work".

In court, Mr Abubaker had not said anything about being beaten by the police. When asked why he said: "I just want peace. I don't want trouble... I want this thing to be closed".

Last year, he was convinced that the incident was racially-motivated, even though he refused to generalise and say the Maltese were racists. "I have been here since 2005 and I have never caused trouble. I never look for trouble... I have a lot of Maltese friends who are nice to me but then there are other people who hate me because of my skin. But I just say: Thank you, my friend, and leave. This is their country, how can I fight with them?" During the interview Mr Abubaker had sworn never to go to Paceville again.

When contacted, Mgr Philip Calleja was shocked by the news and was not in a position to comment. All he said was that despite having been involved in two serious incidents in less than a year, Mr Abubaker was not aggressive. "No... Not at all," he said, recalling that he had visited him in hospital the same day he died.

Meanwhile, Moviment Graffitti said this was not an isolated incident and that immediate action needed to be taken to tackle the rampant racism in Paceville.

cperegin@timesofmalta.com