Accused claimed wound caused by metal splinter

One of the men charged with the attempted heist at HSBC headquarters in Qormi turned up at a hospital the next day with a gunshot wound which he claimed was caused by a metal splinter that had lodged itself in his jaw during work, a court heard yesterday.

Darren Debono, 33, gave this explanation after he was referred to Da Vinci Hospital in Birkirkara by John Zammit Montebello, having sought medical treatment from him for the wound to his jaw.

Dr Zammit Montebello sent him to the hospital for an X-ray at around 7.30 p.m. on July 1 after he was asked to examine the injury, the doctor testified yesterday.

He asked Mr Debono to come back the following morning but Mr Debono turned up at his clinic, together with another man, later the same evening.

At that point, however, the police were onto them and burst into the clinic and arrested them.

Mr Debono and Vincent Muscat, 48, are facing 18 charges that include the attempted murder of two police officers who foiled the June 30 hold-up, attempted robbery, stealing a pistol from the bank’s security officer, holding three bank officers against their will, causing damage to property and relapsing.

The receptionist at the Da Vinci, Anne Caruana, testified that on July 1 at around 8 p.m., four men walked into the hospital and said that “Goofy” had sent them. She asked them who “Goofy” was and they replied Dr Zammit Montebello – Goofy, in fact was a reference to his nickname.

The injured man stepped forward and said he had been working with metal when a splinter hit him in the jaw and he needed an X-ray.

Since he was not carrying an identity card and could not remember the ID number, she gave him a four-digit number, which was usually done in these cases, she said.

She could remember giving him the name Joe and an address but could not remember the men’s faces. When asked if she could recognise any of them in court she said she couldn’t.

Two of the officers first on the scene, who were involved in the shoot-out with the smartly dressed assailants, gave an account of how they first hid behind the police car and then behind another car while exchanging gunfire.

PC Kenneth Ciangura said he was a passenger in a police car patrolling Valletta, Ħamrun and Qormi when headquarters told them to investigate a suspicious vehicle at HSBC in Qormi. When they were only a block away, they were told to check if the bank was open and as they approached the area they spotted a white Peugeot. The moment they passed the bank, they saw the car moving slowly out of its parking spot.

They decided to follow it and when the driver of the car realised he was being followed, he sped off.

They gave chase but the car disappeared around a corner and they turned back towards the bank. But as they got out of the car and were walking up the steps they came face to face with three men in wigs.

The men started firing and PC Ciangura dived behind the car. His colleague, Kurt Gauci, radioed for assistance shouting that they were being shot at.

PC Ciangura then crossed the road firing his gun until he hid behind a silver car and fired again so that PC Gauci also could take cover from the hail of bullets.

Around 60 bullets were fired in all, he said.

The case continues.