A Malian immigrant caused a disturbance at the Floriana health centre on the night he died in a Detention Services van but CCTV footage of his “aggressive” behaviour is not available because the system at the polyclinic did not work, a court heard yesterday.

Nursing Officer Anthony Zammit testified that 32-year-old Mamadou Kamara walked into the health centre on June 29 last year wanting to see a doctor. He asked him for his identity card or a passport for identifi­cation but he had none and so was told to wait.

Mr Zammit said Mr Kamara had an arrogant tone and was being very aggressive and noisy. He tried to barge into the doctor’s examination room and impatiently paced the corridor.

The nurse said he eventually called the police because Mr Kamara became increasingly aggressive in the waiting area. Even when the police arrived, he continued being aggressive with them, he said.

Asked whether there was CCTV footage that the court could see, Mr Zammit said that the close circuit television cameras at the centre only worked for a short period when they were installed and were never used again.

He was testifying in the compilation of evidence against two soldiers – Gunner Clive Cuschieri, 29, of Paola, and Sergeant Mark Anthony Dimech, 44, of Gżira – who stand charged with Mr Kamara’s murder.

Testifying before Magistrate Saviour Demicoli, doctor Glen Micallef recalled that he had examined Sgt Dimech at the Paola health centre for injuries to the arms and face on the day of the alleged murder.

The patient also complained of pain in his thumb, so he was referred for an X-ray.

Dr Micallef said that Sgt Dimech told him that he was injured when he tried to control an aggressive migrant.

Police Inspector Keith Arnaud, prosecuting, asked the doctor to explain why he had only filed his medical certificate some one-and-a-half hours after examining the accused.

The doctor explained that when he was examining Sgt Dimech, another two uniformed men walked into the health centre and asked him to go downstairs to see an immigrant in a vehicle “who was being aggressive”.

He told them to take the migrant to the clinic but they returned some time later and again asked him to go downstairs urgently as the migrant “looked dead”.

Dr Micallef said that, on hearing that statement, Sgt Dimech stood up “in a panic” and called someone from his mobile, “probably his superiors”, and then rushed downstairs.

Sgt Dimech later went to collect his certificate.

In a previous sitting, the court heard that Mr Kamara died from cardiac arrest triggered by intense pain inflicted when he was struck in the groin and other areas repeatedly.

An autopsy revealed two large haematomas – a form of blood collection trauma that can form under the skin – to his testicles. Lung bruising was also noticed, indicating asphyxiation, with a court-appointed pathologist saying that the intensity of the pain caused impulses from a main nerve that led the heart to stop.

A dentist testified that Gnr Cuschieri had 31 bite marks on his body caused by Mr Kamara while Sgt Dimech had eight. This happened when the soldiers tried to arrest the migrant after escaping from the Safi detention centre.

The case continues.

Lawyers Steve Tonna Lowell and Rachel Tua appeared for the accused.

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