Bail granted to accused in Marsaxlokk murder case

The man accused of stabbing to death Twanny Borg, also known as Il-Bona, was yesterday granted bail against a personal guarantee of €30,000 and deposit of €10,000.

Mr Galea is pleading not guilty to murdering Mr Borg at Marsaxlokk on February 21.

In the request for bail, defence lawyer Joseph Giglio said his client, Allan Galea, had waited for all the witnesses to testify and had not wanted to be granted bail because he feared for his life. The atmosphere had now changed and things had cooled down, making it the right time to file the request.

Dr Giglio argued that there was nothing barring the court from upholding the request because all witnesses had testified.

However, Police Inspector Chris Pullicino objected, highlighting the serious nature of the crime.

Earlier, the victim's niece, Prancienne Borg, testified that she knew of no issues between her uncle and the accused, her childhood friend. She said that four weeks before the incident, she had met Mr Galea at the Luqa football club and noticed he was behaving strangely because he was drunk. At one point he even pulled her uncle's gold choker and this had annoyed the deceased. That, she added, was the only incident between the two she could think of.

The case continues.

Lawyer Gianella Caruana Curran also appeared for the accused. José Herrera and Veronique Dalli appeared parte civile.