CCTV footage showed vicious beating of Paceville victim Mario Galea
Victim Mario Galea.
A CCTV camera clearly showed the fight which led to the death of a man who was run over by a taxi in Paceville earlier this month, a court was told today.
At the start of the compilation of evidence against Joe Zahra of St Julians and Brian Cini of Victoria, both 28, who stand accused of murder, Police Inspector Keith Arnaud said that on August 10 at 3.45 a.m. the police received an urgent telephone call about how two men were assaulting a man.
Some five minutes later another call came in, with the police being informed that the two men had driven off in a green Peugeot car while the victim was on the ground. A short while later a third caller said a taxi had run over the victim.
The green car was intercepted by the police at the traffic lights on the Regional Road and the two accused who were in it were arrested.
Zahra was at the back while Cini was driving.
The inspector said the fight had been recorded by a number of CCTV cameras. The victim, Mario Galea, 47, was repeatedly hit around the head. Zahra was seen landing powerful punches on Galea and also kicking him.
At one time the victim Galea fell on his knees and was pulled by his long hair onto the pavement opposite the Frank Salt offices, where he was again repeatedly punched, before collapsing unconscious.
Witnesses to the crime had described the accused by what they were wearing. They described Zahra as the person who had hit Galea. The CCTV footage also showed Zahra viciously attacking Galea.
The Green Peugeot driven by Cini then picked up Zahra and drove off.
Eyewitness Peter Grima had told the police that he heard one of the aggressors telling the victim 'Get out your €50'.
An Iranian man who was driving past witnessed the incident and ran off in panic.
The CCTV then showed the taxi coming around the corner. A crowd was in the area at the time. The taxi slowed down before turning the corner, but ran over the body of Mario Galea.
After being arrested, Cini told the police that Zahra and himself had met victim Mario Galea and they went to St George's Bay. Zahra was angry with Galea on an issue involving money and a mobile phone which Zahra claimed Galea had stolen from him.
Cini had said that Galea appeared to be drunk. Cini said he tried to calm Zahra down. At one time all three got into the Peugeot, where the fight grew.
They drove into Paceville where they got out the car. Cini admitted punching the victim once and then going back in the car. Zahra returned to the car and boasted of having given Galea a deserved beating.
In his own version, Zahra told the police they had had an argument over a mobile phone. Galea had asked to use his mobile phone and then disappeared. Zahra and Cini got into the car and looked for him. They tracked him down near the Swieqi tunnel and Galea got into the car, where the fight started and continued in Paceville.
When confronted by the CCTV footage, Zahra denied being aware that Galea had collapsed on the ground. He did not known he had blood on his own shoes and he denied that the fight was over money.
The hearing continues on Monday.
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43 Comments
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Anne Grima
Aug 22nd 2012, 10:30
How very, very sad that someone should die like this and for what, 50 Euros? a mobile phone? What cruel people exist around us. R.I.P. Mario and condolences to your family.
jane galea
Aug 21st 2012, 23:34
Din l'istess sitwazzjoni grat Ghawdex wkoll f'jum il-festa ta Santa Marija fejn ghalkemml-ghassa tal-pulizija kienet inqas min ghoxrin pass bghod mill-post fejn sar il glied xorta damet hin twil biex hadet azzjoni. Tghid xoghol ta pulizija sar bhal kull xoghol iehor tac-civil l-aqwa li tidhol il-paga ?
Jurgen Farrugia
Aug 21st 2012, 20:00
Another case of shame by the Maltese authorities. In Paceville there should be heavier police presence.
Antonella Aquilina
Aug 21st 2012, 19:45
I ask one question : why is it also the police on duty who get the blame but never the authorities who dont know what is going on in that area? Has anyone asked how many police were on duty? I would bet perhaps 2 or 3. That is the norm for St Julian's police station.
R Gatt
Aug 21st 2012, 19:00
can we know how far apart were the calls. isnt the police station 2 minutes away of st julians. this is what i cant understand..
Anthony Agius
Aug 22nd 2012, 12:54
Police at st julians police station are stretched to the limit. They need more people there and maybe even a police station in paceville.
John Borg (mlh)
Aug 21st 2012, 17:12
Some people with business interests may beg to differ, but I believe that one drastic change has to be implemented in Paceville: closing times of all establishments serving alcahol have to be at no later than 1.00 am. Most of the violence occuring is in the early hours of the morning and this is not just by coincidence. At that time there are so many people wandering around drunk to the eyeballs and maybe even doped with drugs, that it is only natural that rational thinking goes out the window and the law of the jungle takes over. Most countries in Europe have strict opening hours which are enforced rigidly and nobody complains. Some will say that violence still erupts, which is true, but by enforcing closure at that time, at least one is limiting the damage.I have seen this type of alcahol induced behaviour at a similar type of night spot - Agia Napia in Cyprus and yes, it too is a dangerous place to get into an argument in the early hours... Only because many of the zombies walking around at that time are so drunk or high that again, reasoning is not an option.... unless action is taken to protect John citizen, Paceville will become a no go zone where only the brave will dear tread...
M Mifsud
Aug 21st 2012, 17:07
What shocks me most is the the inertia of onlookers. I wouldn't be surprised if a video pops up, taken with a mobile phone. This horrendous indifference is creeping up on Malta too, unfortunately!
A. Mifsud
Aug 21st 2012, 16:41
did the mobile contain any particular important information?
Mark Spiteri
Aug 21st 2012, 16:33
QUOTE - Police Inspector Keith Arnaud said that on August 10 at 3.45 a.m. the police received an urgent telephone call about how two men were assaulting a man.
Some five minutes later another call came in, with the police being informed that the two men had driven off in a green Peugeot car while the victim was on the ground. A short while later a third caller said a taxi had run over the victim.THE ST JULIANS POLICE STATION IS 2 MINUTES AWAY FROM WHERE MARIO WAS KILLED !!!
R Gatt
Aug 21st 2012, 18:50
i have to agree with you mark, the police station is so close to that area how is it that it took so long?
alistair scott
Aug 21st 2012, 16:32
Why is it that the police in Malta seem to me to be very lax about a lot of crime?why do they seem to be restricted?,Incidents like this are becoming more frequent.Is it Maltese on Maltese? or refugees who are commiting more criminal acts.Do the Maltese public voice their concerns strongly enough with the government?,these are some of the questions i would like answers on.
Brendon Borg
Aug 21st 2012, 16:28
If one expects the police to be on spot after two minutes, St Julians police station should have hundred people on a single shift, all stationed in different streets.
Some also said it's 30 seconds walk from the station, I believe Usain Bolt can do it in 18 seconds.
Christopher Bugeja
Aug 21st 2012, 16:02
Was this man left lying in the street alone all this time even though a crowd was present (as this article indicates) even though the aggressors had already fled the scene in a vehicle? Did no one attempt to signal to the taxi driver to slow down?
I can't believe the taxi driver would have missed a group of people helping this victim had this not been the case.
alistair scott
Aug 21st 2012, 16:25
Good point Christopher,and yes in Malta serious crime like this is clearly on the up,with very little punishment just like the UK.A good point also by a poster is to create a police station in Paceville with hopefully quicker response times,money ploughed in to the police to help combat these vicious thugs.I just hope these two get what they deserve after the video evidence,if it was me they would be injected,a quick and easy costless death to them.
C Rogers
Aug 21st 2012, 15:47
Referring to that comment by Glenn.... Why should the police save the life and not the general public who witnessed what was going on.... Oh i forgot the Police are of course SUPERMAN....
Mario Borg
Aug 21st 2012, 16:51
If you are not a policeman and weren't .. Please mind how you speak! You don't know what happened!
George Attard
Aug 21st 2012, 15:07
"An Iranian man who was driving past witnessed the incident and ran off in panic!"
???? What did he do, get out of the car and run?
Rowena Scicluna
Aug 21st 2012, 17:25
Same thoughts here, George! Probably the usual broken English we are now (almost) used to.
Jay Oatmon
Aug 21st 2012, 14:08
The only answer for Paceville is a new police station right in the center of the place - otherwise it will slide deeper into a cesspit of drugs, watered down booze, crime and violence.
Joseph Borg
Aug 21st 2012, 13:23
A fight over a mobile phone? Come on! Are we dump or what?
C Cassar
Aug 21st 2012, 14:09
not very surprising. In the UK teenagers have been known to shoot each other over a mobile phone. So yes.
john vernon
Aug 21st 2012, 15:28
In the UK they have been killed for small change, get a grip Malta before the sameis standard here.
Paul Azzopardi
Aug 21st 2012, 12:41
I really hope this isn't going to be another 60 euro fine.....Then again our legal system never stops to surprise us....
Edmond Micallef
Aug 21st 2012, 12:32
Lock the guilty and throw the keys as far away as possible.
Bring in the death penalty for such heinous crimes.
G. Rapinett
Aug 21st 2012, 12:27
Why such incidents are always cause for some to shed doubt on police work, is beyond me.
Havn't any of the critics realised that the car was stopped on the Regional Road - so logically the action was quite timely if the culprits were caught.
If criticism is to be dished, then a share is surely due to the on-lookers. Had some of them gestured to the taxi driver and all on-coming traffic, that a body was lying on the ground, maybe the victim would not have been run over.
Glenn Camilleri
Aug 21st 2012, 12:07
Kullhadd bravu wara but they police could have saved a life here !
Mario Borg
Aug 21st 2012, 16:54
Please if you weren't there do not just talk! You do not know what happened!
Joseph N. Attard
Aug 21st 2012, 11:58
Savage thuggery can only be controlled in one way- by equally savage court sentences.
K. Vella
Aug 21st 2012, 11:53
My bigger concern is the speed of the TAXI, considering that this was driving in an inner core of Paceville...I still coming to terms to read 'RUN OVER'...this is a serious concern.
Taxis do overspeed in main roads and are very dangerous to other fellow drivers. I think it is time that this problem is addressed and hefty fines are issued.
London is jam packed with Taxis but I never saw them overspeeding or overtaking other cars like here in Malta.
I hope that the authorities will take note.
C Busuttil
Aug 21st 2012, 12:23
YOUR biggest concern should be that a human being was beaten to death and not the speed of the taxi
Steven Cutajar
Aug 21st 2012, 12:46
K. Vella
LOL. Your comment is just hilarious. You manage to point something which is a fact with something which you surely cannot understand.
Whilst I agree with you that most of the taxis are careless, over-speeding and totally law-breaking drivers, I find the fact that your biggest concern is the speed the taxi was going at totally hilarious (excuse the pun) Thank God for the fact that you "hope" authorities will take note because MY biggest concern is the fact that if authorities had taken note, none of this would have had happened. Police were called 2 times before the taxi ran over the poor guy. They weren't there. Is it still the taxis' fault? well here are MY biggest concerns:
No police showed up upon having had distress calls regarding the fight.
All the people passing next to him should be ashamed of having left someone in the middle of the road laying half dead and doing nothing about it.
Anyone can be run over if careless, let alone if being dumped half dead in the middle of a hectic driving street, at night and in a corner.
So authorities can and should fine abusive taxi drivers and how, but please, don't just point fingers at the taxi driver when there is a whole lot more and many more people to blame for this brutal killing prior to blaming a guy that was only on about doing his job and which is now most probably scarred for life.
Reuben Micallef
Aug 21st 2012, 15:37
@K Vella, @C Busuttil , @Steven Cutajar
I tend to agree most with Busuttil but I am more than sure that all of you agree. There are several problems regarding this incident:
- FIRST - the police were notified and not so far off the station a savage beating was happening whihc leaves a big question unanswered, even if a policeman set by foot ...s/he could have been on the spot of the incident.
- SECOND - the taxi ran over a human being which is unacceptable.
By all means I am not criticising the roads etc etc but this person's life could have been saved with at least one of the above two situations being avoided. Why is it that policemen always pop up on the spot of the incident AFTER everything is finished? the incident was 30 secs away by FOOT from the police station is that far off? And there is no excuse for anyone running over a human being especially in that bend where any driver ought to slow down before turning. We do not know about passers by so we cannot judge but they did call the police....
Christian Falzon
Aug 21st 2012, 15:40
The white taxi drivers are good drivers with lots of experience they speed up on main roads because there is ignorant drivers driving on the fast lane , but in st julians where you can speed up? Everywhere zebra crossin. Thats because its a taxi you are saying if it was a normal car you call him miskin. But for you here its the taxi to blame isnt it yeah right it could of be you.
Joe Xuereb
Aug 21st 2012, 11:44
Savagery unleashed and decent people need to take all precautions not to be caught in its path.
Criss Camilleri
Aug 21st 2012, 11:22
So it took THREE phone calls to the Police. Can we know the time between each call?
C Sant
Aug 21st 2012, 12:13
5 minutes - read the article!
julian caruana
Aug 21st 2012, 11:20
why did teh police take so long to intervene???
C Sant
Aug 21st 2012, 12:14
Is 5 minutes too long? Do you think that the police wear a blue cap with a large S on their chest and can fly at the speed of light?
J Micallef
Aug 21st 2012, 12:25
didn;t you see the pace at which the Police arrived at the Marsaxlokk scene when the fight broke out?
I feel that the Police are facing very poor morale. And who could blame them with the conditions they are asked to work in?
S.M. Cuschieri
Aug 21st 2012, 12:50
@Julian Caruana
A good point. Why three calls? Maybe they would hope that the fight would have fizzled out by the time they arrived??
Matt S
Aug 21st 2012, 13:38
The distance from POLICE station to crime scene is 2 min walk MAX! Do the math... They were simply slow as always...
Mario Borg
Aug 21st 2012, 16:57
You are blaming the police with this without knowing exactly what happened! Do you know when the police were advised... There couldn't be police every corner ready for something to happen! and do you know how long the fight took.. maybe it took less than the police arrived !!! So please you really have to be there to blame things and people!!
Please choose the reason of your report below: