A factory owner and his son lay in wait for an intruder on their premises and then allegedly injured him in a struggle, a court was told today.

The incident took place at Dolphin Industrial Services Ltd in Paola on the afternoon of May 9.

Company director Daniel Farrugia and his father Louis were allegedly investigating who was behind a number of thefts in their factory. 

Mr Farrugia, 35, of Attard, stands accused of grievously injuring intruder Charles Spiteri and relapsing. He allegedly hit Mr Spiteri with a plank of wood.

Mr Farrugia’s father allegedly pointed a pistol at Mr Spiteri and fired a warning shot.

Three RIU officers who took the witness stand said they had received information from the district police that a man was found entering a factory and that the intruder was being held by the owners.

When the officers arrived on site, they found Mr Spiteri with blood dripping from his head, next to the father and son. They were outside the factory’s gate but within the confines of the factory.

The alleged victim told the policemen to keep an eye on the Farrugias, claiming that the father was armed. When the officers searched the father and son they did not find any weapons, but when they searched the father's Pajero parked outside the factory, they found a pistol and shotgun under the seat. The guns were not loaded and the magazine was found in a separate spot in the car.

Defence lawyer Gavin Gulia said Mr Spiteri had no business going to the factory since he was neither the owner nor an employee.  

Mr Spiteri told the police that he heard some noises inside the factory and went in to see what was going on, only to be found out by the owners of the factory.

An argument ensued between him and the Farrugias, which saw Mr Spiteri sustaining grievous injuries to the head.

Although the latter claimed that the father had fired a warning shot, no spent cartridges were found on site, the police said. They also confirmed that the younger Farrugia had lodged a report at the police station during the months leading to the incident as a number of items had been stolen from their factory.

The prosecution team confirmed that Mr Spiteri will soon be issued charges and face separate criminal proceedings. 

The case is set to continue on December 7.

Magistrate Josette Demicoli presided. Inspectors Joseph Mercieca and Spiridione Zammit prosecuted.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.