The Bulgarian man who stands accused of murdering a Serbian friend in Qawra on February 2 admitted the fatal stabbing to the police, but claimed that the victim had been choking him, a police inspector told a court this morning.

Emil Atanasov, 27, stands accused of murdering 27-year-old Dragoljub Kristic in an apartment in Triq il-Merluzz, Qawra.

Police Inspector Keith Arnaud recounted how a group of men had been playing loud music in the apartment when the landlord switched off their electricity.

An argument ensued and the victim was stabbed in one of the bedrooms and died in a pool of blood in the common area of the apartment block.

Inspector Arnaud said the accused was blamed for the fact that the landlord had turned off their electricity.

At the argument heated up Atanasov told the police that he had gone to his bedroom to fetch a crowbar and a knife. His purpose, he had said, was to scare off the other men. He was assaulted and Kristic grabbed him by the neck and pinned him to a wall. It was then that he stabbed him.

The victim and another friend ran out of the apartment and Atanasov followed. As Kristic collapsed, Atanasov threw the crowbar into a pot plant and disposed of the knife in a drain pipe.

Inspector Arnaud said Atanasov had insisted with the police that he never intended to kill Kristic but only to scare him off.

The case continues.