A gun that Twanny Borg, Il-Bona, used shortly before he was fatally stabbed two weeks ago was taken by the person who runs the bar where the victim had been drinking and given to the police later, a magistrate heard yesterday.

The victim's brother, Frans Borg, testified that he "remembered" about the gun when he was recently held for questioning in connection with the case.

He said it "clicked" when under arrest and remembered that his friend, Paul Borg, Ix-Xu, who runs the bar of the Nationalist Party club in Marsaxlokk, might have taken the gun.

He took the police to the man and, at first, Ix-Xu said he had disposed of the weapon in the sea but eventually admitted he still had it and, in fact, produced it.

Mr Borg said in court that his brother, the victim, had fired two shots in the air before chasing the man now being charged with his murder.

Mr Borg was testifying in the first sitting of the compilation of evidence of Allan Galea, 31, who stands charged with Twanny Borg's murder.

Before Mr Borg started giving evidence, Magistrate Miriam Hayman warned him he could incriminate himself because he could face charges for slightly injuring the accused. However, he chose to testify, even admitting to punching the accused after his brother's death.

He said he went to the PN club in Marsaxlokk at about midday together with his daughter Francienne, her boyfriend Clifton Cassar, his one-year-old granddaughter and his brother Twanny. There they had drinks and appetisers.

At about 6 p.m. his brother left and he heard a lot of shouting outside.

When he went to investigate, he saw the accused standing about 60 metres away waving a knife at his brother, challenging him to fight. His brother moved forward, fired two shots in the air and took off, chasing the accused.

Mr Borg said his brother threw the gun on the ground as he approached the accused.

Eventually, he tripped on the pavement and fell against a wall. It was at that point that the accused stabbed him twice in the back.

His brother then turned face up and, the witness added, Mr Galea jumped on him, stabbing him in the chest.

The accused threw the knife on the ground near the victim and Mr Borg admitted punching Mr Galea four times.

Mr Borg denied there had been a long-standing argument between his brother and the accused.

The only tiff between the two was a silly incident in which the accused grabbed the victim by the necklace and made fun of him.

Mr Borg's testimony was echoed, practically word-for-word, by Mr Cassar. Both the prosecuting officer and the lawyer appearing parte civile for the victim's family asked him to calm down because he was rushing through his testimony. However, the appeal did not seem to work.

When he ended his evidence and the magistrate asked defence lawyer Joe Giglio whether he wanted to cross-examine the witness, Dr Giglio said he would "reserve the pleasure for the next sitting".

Forensic pathologist Mario Scerri confirmed that the victim had three stab wounds and the fatal wound was the one to the chest, which penetrated his heart.

The victim had traces of cocaine and alcohol in his urine, Dr Scerri added.

The case continues.