A bouncer at a popular nightclub was yesterday cleared of seriously injuring a client after CCTV footage revealed it was the alleged victim who started beating him up.

Jonathan Agius, 27, of St Paul’s Bay was attacked by brothers David and Paul Lucey on March 5, 2006 at around 1.30 a.m. inside Fuego nightclub in the same town.

The brothers pushed him to the floor and were punching him before they were pulled away by another two bouncers, Jonathan Micallef and Raymond Zammit.

Two days after the incident, the brothers filed a police report claiming that Mr Agius had beaten David up and seriously injured him and slightly injured Paul.

Taking the witness stand, Mr Agius said the brothers and their wives were making a lot of noise and acting like they were arguing. He noticed the brothers acting irrationally and their strange behaviour getting worse after they came out of the toilet together.

He decided to keep an eye on them but they suddenly approached him and told him to leave them alone and not pick on them. They then pushed him to the floor and started hitting him.

Magistrate Audrey Demicoli said the version given by the brothers was not credible and furthermore, the CCTV footage clearly showed the alleged victims pushing the accused to the floor and punching him. Besides, the Laceys only filed a police report about two days after the incident. The prosecution failed to prove that the accused seriously injured David Lucey, the magistrate ruled.

Police Inspector Josric Mifsud prosecuted. Lawyer Joseph Giglio appeared for the accused.