Man seriously injured in 'massive' Senglea brawl

A fight between two groups of friends over a girl got out of hand when a 20-year-old man allegedly hit another in the face with a screwdriver on Friday evening, a court heard.

The man, Joseph Pace from Paola, allegedly struck John Baptist Degiorgio in the face with the hand tool during what was described in court as a massive brawl that occurred at around 10.30 p.m. in Senglea. Mr Pace was yesterday charged with seriously injuring Mr Degiorgio.

Only sketchy details about the incident emerged in court. Defence lawyer José Herrera said his client had jumped in to try and defend a friend of his, adding that the court should give him the benefit of the doubt and grant him bail.

Rebutting, Police Inspector Jesmond Borg said this was not a spontaneous fight but pre-meditated; in fact it was massive.

Mr Pace pleaded not guilty to the charge, threatening Mr Degiorgio, breaching the peace and swearing in public. He also denied breaching the conditions of a previous release.

Magistrate Anthony Vella placed Mr Pace under house arrest against a personal guarantee of €5,000 and a deposit of €1,000.

Lawyers José Herrera and Veronique Dalli appeared for the accused.