Barrakka lift attendant admits punching client 'who refused to pay'
An operator of the Barrakka lift was charged in court today after punching a man who refused to pay the €1 fare.
Mario Antonelli, 45 of Valletta was accused of injuring Michael Mertsch yesterday afternoon.
Police Inspector Kaylie Borg said the victim's spectacles, worth €350, were broken during the incident.
Mr Antonelli was granted bail pending judgment. He paid for the spectacles.
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62 Comments
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James Dewar
Feb 11th, 21:15
Previous Occupation? Club Steward / Bouncer? Lucky the victim wasn't "thrown out".
Antonio Vincenzo
Feb 11th, 20:58
Actually we should really know all the facts before talking about that serious topic, wich really shows somehow how people can react just for having a bad day. I am afraid that this is not the first time that something like that happened in Malta. I love that beautiful country, but I have to confess, that I have seen that kind of reaction some times from public servants insulting foreigners.
Simon Cutajar
Feb 11th, 19:47
tajba din ! mela jien nahdem waiter u namel minn kollox biex jerga jigi izurna u dan ghax ma tahx euro qalla daqqa ta ponn ! Kif spiccajna
twanny borg
Feb 11th, 22:05
Simon- li kieku xi hadd kiel u jigdeb u jghid li diga halsek u ma jridx ihallas. X'taghmel thallas int biex jerga jigi?
R Borg
Feb 12th, 11:38
100% agree with Mr. Borg.
R. Gauci
Feb 11th, 19:08
Prova ta' x'tip ta' turisti qed nattiraw, anqas iridu jhallsu ewro.
It-turizmu ghandu jitkejjel mill-kwalita' mhux bil-kwantita' ghax spiccajna destinazzjoni low cost.
Joseph N. Attard
Feb 11th, 20:51
So, Mr. R. Gauci, do you agree or do you not agree that if someone refuses to pay one euro, you have the right to punch him? This is 2013 A.D, you know, not 2013 B.C.
Glenn Travers
Feb 11th, 18:47
This is assault, pure and simple. The reason why the guy didnt want to pay is a side issue. You cannot have a public servant dishing out corporal punishment
Charles Sammut. (NY)
Feb 11th, 17:47
No excuse for punching out someone. The lift attendant is on the wrong job. Had he been in the States the parent company would be liable for a huge sum of money. Let the law decide if there was a theft of service.
Anthony Paul Naudi
Feb 11th, 16:35
Il-vjolenza qatt ma iggib raguni imma jekk wiehed ghandu jhallas ghal xi servizz ghandu jhallas u jekk ikollu xi complaint jghamilha wara.
Etienne Borg
Feb 11th, 16:34
No one get injured who use the Eiffel Tower lifts in France. Thousands of people use the lifts on daily basis. Meaning they have a good systems that you pay before you get on board the lift.
This incident happened here because the system is not working as it should be…..
ray vassallo
Feb 11th, 16:25
When boarding a bus, boat or any other thing; when entering a museum, night club or any other place; people pay before. My understanding here is that since this man refused to pay, he had already used the lift. It is much more less complicated to pay beforehand. If one refuses to pay, one will not get on board.
Gillian Snook
Feb 11th, 16:15
Why did he refuse to pay?
Giocchino Attard
Feb 11th, 19:21
refuges don't have money
D Psaila
Feb 11th, 20:31
Refugees have more money than me!! I see them wearing designer clothes, nice mobiles and cars....and they either get a free place to live or a place to rent between their friends
J Galea
Feb 11th, 16:14
Does not do much for our tourism reputation does it? Assault is a serious crime in civilized countries.
M Spiteri
Feb 11th, 16:38
hekk hu...pero jaghmillek demmek ilma dak il hin.....meta nsiefer jien noqod ghar regoli ta dak l pajjiz u nippretendi li min jigi hawn jaghmel l istess
A.f Ellul
Feb 11th, 18:38
If you do not pay in their country, what did you think they do to you ? propably no respect....
...
Karl Consiglio
Feb 11th, 16:05
Did this fight happen while the lift was in operation with other people in it? or before the ride? Makes a big difference
Robert Micallef
Feb 11th, 16:03
We cannot afford to have these kind of people serving our local citizens and tourists by punching people!!!
K Grech
Feb 11th, 16:44
Mhux dawn biss, imma anki nofs dawk tal arriva li jkunu bis suffara l belt, qishom mahruqin laqqas tista tkellimhom. Mhux kollha ta, imma l maggoranza. Kull meta tittardja tal linja jghidulek 'ha niccekjaw', 'waslet sa bieb l bombi' - tibda tahseb li waqa bieb il bombi fuq tal linja ax ddum nofs siegha.
Pamela Hansen
Feb 11th, 16:01
It is appalling that a man with violent tendencies is operating a public service. He should be sacked. The price of spectacles and whether the victim refused to pay are not the issue here
J Galea
Feb 11th, 15:59
If somebody refuses to pay you call the police not punch the man!
twanny borg
Feb 11th, 16:34
U sakemm jigu l -pulizija jwaqqaf il-lift? U jekk kellu nies iridu juzawh urgenti? Ihallashom huwa? U jekk ma jehodlux flus u jitkecca? U jekk kien ilu siegha jghidlu bl-edukazzjoni kollha biex johrog mil-lift u jibqgha jirrifjuta u jizzufjetta bih? Nahseb hemm limitu ghal kollox.
Joseph Camilleri
Feb 11th, 19:38
@twanny borg: hu x'inhu l-limitu QATT ma tista tiggustifika li taghti bil-ponn. Alla hares kulhadd jibda jenforza l-ligi hekk ...
Joseph Sammut
Feb 11th, 15:59
J.SAMMUT
WHY DID THIS GENTLE MAN REFUSED TO PAY,? HITTING HIM IS NOT THE ANSWER,SHOULD HAVE CALLED THE POLICE
Michael Borg
Feb 11th, 15:57
hemm la jitla il JM dawn l-affarjiet jispiccaw darba ghal dejjem !!!!
Ms Xixi Caruana
Feb 11th, 18:50
'Like' :))
Tonna Paul
Feb 11th, 15:55
wow wow wow what a shame, is this the picture we would like to portray to our tourists.
which entity/ departments is responsible for the lift.
who was responsible for the hiring of this person?
pretty sure he was selected through a very transperent methodology!!!
Dorielle Soler
Feb 14th, 14:40
Mildly I would say I found this lift attendant very courteous when I used the lift and chatted to him for a while. What I would say without entering into the merits of the case that given certain verbal provocation, surprisingly enough even a mild mannered person can lose his head and react primitively. Very, very unfortunately for him of course, not to mention the other party.
J. D. Farrugia
Feb 11th, 15:49
Two "wrongs" does not make a "right".
Mario Borg
Feb 11th, 15:43
How can a magistrate arbitrary make a statement like that (The spectacles are too expensive)
David Hill
Feb 11th, 16:30
Where did you see that comment?
You must be reading a different report to me.
Johan Grech
Feb 11th, 15:38
Everybody pays taxes and we all pay for what we use but Mr. Antonelli should have not let the guy to use the lift.
Mr Andrew Camilleri
Feb 11th, 15:24
To those judging Dr Mertsch: kindly note that he has denied what Antonelli has said about him. So why are you passing judgmement on him if he has denied?
Kenneth Cassar
Feb 11th, 15:38
He didn't deny refusing to pay the €1 though, did he?
Vincent Mercieca
Feb 11th, 15:48
@Andrew Camilleri
From where did you get Dr Mertsch comments? No comments appear in the ToM report above
Joseph N. Attard
Feb 11th, 15:22
Unfortunately, a certain section of the population still believe that might is right, and they resort to their fists at the least provocation. Education is the missing key element here. One day, one hopes that they will learn that the pen (or word) is mightier than the sword.
Mr ALBERT LEONE GANADO
Feb 11th, 15:17
The victim appears to be an arrogant individual who behaves in a way he would never dare do in his own country. I paid three times that for simple tourist lift rides in France and Germany. However he was a potential customer and the lift attendant had no right to resort to violence. He should simply have refused him use and if this person dared proceed it would have been aggravated theft
Mario Borg
Feb 11th, 15:41
@Mr Albert Leone Ganado,
Look up aggravated theft, as it was only 1euro if the theft would have occured.
Joe Scerri
Feb 11th, 15:04
We all pay taxes Mr Mertsch, what makes you so special?
Paul Sammut
Feb 11th, 14:56
Its true that one faces a lot of different complains especially in certain jobs but i do not think that we have to refer to violence to solve a problem
Anthony Borg
Feb 11th, 14:39
"....the victim had not wanted to pay the €1 fare, saying he pays enough taxes in Malta."
This is getting all too familiar - what did this foreign resident expect - a free ride.
Now even tourists are demanding same bus fares as the subsidized local commuters get.
In my opinion, the lift attendant over-reacted, but he was provoked. He should have just denied access to the lift.
James Vella Clark
Feb 11th, 15:06
Were you there, present when all this happened Mr Borg?
Paul Borg
Feb 11th, 15:10
Mela qatt ma sirt siehbi ???? ohrog mid dar naqra iktar jaghmillek tajjeb. L-ebda pajjiz ma jzomm iktar ghall ebda trasport lill barranin.
J lanzon
Feb 11th, 15:13
Why charge tourists more for public transport? Not going completely against you, just want a good and valid explanation as to why you see this as a better thing.
Pippo de Marco
Feb 11th, 16:24
@ Anthony Borg.
Are you are happy for Malta to receive EU money that is paid for by foreign, EU tax-paying tourists, but unhappy when those EU tax-paying tourists expect to pay the same bus fares as we do?
In other words, you don't mind hypocrisy, but you object to equality?
And where do you stand on EU residents paying Maltese taxes AND another 30% more than us for their electricity?
Christopher Galea
Feb 11th, 16:26
Re foreigners paying higher fees for public transport: it is more the case of residents (please note NOT nationals) paying less. The fees are the same for all. Being a resident of Malta one is entitled to pay less and non residents pay the normal fare. This practice if found in many countries all over the world. Gozo residents enjoy the same treatment when using the ferry between the two islands.
eddy towers
Feb 11th, 20:23
mr borg, hang on a minute, when reading the times as i do everyday, comments are the EU is good for this, the EU is good for that, so why shouldnt tourists complain to the EU about bus fares, you cant have it both ways, you are either in the EU or not, as for the lift debarcle fine them both 200 euros and give the fines to charity one should have paid, the other should not hit out.
Anthony Borg
Feb 12th, 08:59
@ Mr Vella Clark : Why do you ask ?
Anthony Borg
Feb 12th, 09:09
@ Mr. J. Lanzon
Tourists are not charged more Mr.Lanzon - they pay the "standard" Arriva bus tariff.
This standard bus fare is government subsidized for residents as the change over from ATP to Arriva was a hugh surge upward in fares, which the local commuters could not absorb.
I for one, who depend daily on bus commuting, would not afford such a steep rise in fare.
Anthony Borg
Feb 12th, 09:13
I think Mr. Christopher Galea (Yesterday, 16:26) summed it up much better than me.
Paul Meilak
Feb 11th, 14:33
Mr Mertsch has come from a free tax country ?
I believe that his home country has got much higher taxes and tariffs !!
Punching someone is never justified but I think that Mr Mertsh needed to change his specs so that he could see and understand better the legalities of a country.
Kevin Azzopardi
Feb 11th, 14:33
I want to see the CCTV footage please.
James Dewar
Feb 11th, 21:19
Do you really? I am sure there are more exciting or even educational films on TV!
Joseph E Briffa
Feb 11th, 14:30
What so strange about the cost of Eur350 for a pair of specs? A pair of specs I bought in 1994 cost me Lm135 (Eur315), another pair cost me Lm125 (Eur290) in 2000., and the last pair cost me Eur300.
K. Vella II
Feb 11th, 15:07
A former judge, for example, would have no idea what's 'a ridiculous amount' for a steak.
Joseph Bartolo
Feb 11th, 15:16
I paid around €600 for a pair of spectacles last year from a shop in Valletta! What's going on here? Its true that I have astigmatism and the lenses also darken in the sun but the million dollar question is "Was I ripped off?"
Joseph Schembri
Feb 11th, 15:29
If you buy your glasses here in Malta you'll pay these ridiculous sums of money. Order them online and you will be paying less than €50 for the same pair. If you want other options (like lenses that darken etc.) expect to pay slightly less than €100 for them.
Franz Zammit Haber
Feb 11th, 15:36
We are all being ripped off on our glasses!!!!
GL Calleja
Feb 11th, 15:47
Mr Schembri you have the right answer. Go online and you save yourself a bundle and with the savings take a Ferry trip to Italy or maybe a short vacation in Gozo..
A A Camilleri
Feb 11th, 16:33
@ j briffa
I think you are being ripped off wherever you are going for your specs!!
Please choose the reason of your report below: