Vince Farrugia, director of the Chamber For Small And Medium Enterprises (GRTU), was yesterday beaten up at his office in Valletta and taken to hospital suffering from serious injuries.

A fellow council member and developer, Sandro Chetcuti, is expected to be arraigned over the incident after filing a report at the police station, sources said.

The GRTU issued a statement saying that Mr Chetcuti walked into its offices at around noon and asked to speak to Mr Farrugia privately.

Mr Chetcuti "...suddenly and without provocation...threw him (Mr Farrugia) to the ground, punched and kicked him repeatedly, while threatening Mr Farrugia with his life," the chamber said. The alleged attack took place in full view of other employees, who intervened and called an ambulance for Mr Farrugia.

People from other offices nearby said they heard shouting inside the building and then saw a man emerge from the GRTU buildings and run up the road.

Shortly after that an ambulance arrived and Mr Farrugia, who had some head injuries but was conscious, was taken to hospital.

Sources said he was certified to have suffered a strong blow to the eye and had to have several stitches in his face. He was kept in hospital for observation because of the head injuries.

They said Mr Chetcuti went straight to the city's police station and is expected to be arraigned tomorrow. When contacted, Mr Chetcuti said he preferred not to comment on the issue and did not know if Mr Farrugia was in hospital. "For now, I'm not in a position to speak about this," he said over the phone.

GRTU sources said the incident was sparked by a text message which Mr Chetcuti mistakenly sent to Mr Farrugia instead of Labour leader Joseph Muscat. Mr Farrugia planned to take action about the matter and Mr Chetcuti got wind of this.

The chamber, the Nationalist Party and the Labour party condemned the beating and expressed their solidarity with Mr Farrugia.