The accused in the trial by jury on the 2010 fatal stabbing of Anthony Borg, known as il-Bona repeatedly insisted with the police he never had any intention of fighting the victim, despite taking a knife to meet him at the Marsaxlokk square.

Jurors this afternoon heard a recording of Allan Galea’s interrogation, carried out the day after the murder on February 22, 2010.

Mr Borg, 39, was found dead at the Marsaxlokk square in the presence of his relatives, including his girlfriend Claire Magri, his brother Frans and the boyfriend of his niece Clifton Cassar.

A while before, the victim was on the phone with a man, with his relatives observing him having a verbal argument.

The accused insisted that he took a knife with him for self-defence, because he had seen the Mr Borg and his family at the Nationalist Party club while he was working at the Marsaxlokk flea market and he was afraid they would gang up on him.

The interrogating police inspectors noted that his version of events ran contrary to the one which he had given a day earlier out of his own free will and prior to seeking a lawyer’s advice.

On the day of the murder, he told Insp. Pullicino that while on the phone with the victim, he told him “I will come, rip you to shreds and eat you up”.

However, during the recorded interrogation a day later, Mr Galea denied saying those words and added that “a lot of the words I said yesterday are not true” and that he said them because he was “in pain and dizzy”.

He said that Mr Galea shot at him and he hid by a car “out of fear”.

Mr Galea approached him, he continued, and they somehow ended up face to face.

“I pushed him or scraped him on his arm. Or shoulder. Then I hit him on the back, I don’t know how.”

He said that he had never fought with Mr Borg before and that he had known him since “forever”. He said that on the morning of the murder, he had spotted Mr Borg’s brother Frans walking past his stall and he had greeted him with a smile.

He also insisted that he had never borrowed money from the victim.

The trial by jury started this morning with the prosecution cautioning the jury not to be influenced by any negative character traits which might emerge on the victim.

The victim was well known to the police as a notorious loan shark and had previously appeared in court charged with, among other things, usury.

In her opening address, lawyer Lara Lanfranco from the Attorney General's Office presented the jury with a brief summary of the facts.

She said that a while before the murder the victim was on the phone with a man, with his relatives observing him having a verbal argument.

When the relatives went to see what happened, they noticed that the accused was walking towards the PN club and had a knife in his possession. He challenged Mr Borg to a fight, using vulgar words.

Upon observing his aggressive demeanor, Mr Borg went to his car which was parked nearby and produced a gun. He then approached the accused and fired two warning shots in the air.

Mr Borg dropped the weapon on the ground while Mr Galea remained clasping the kitchen knife.

Mr Galea stabbed the victim in the back. Mr Borg stumbled towards the middle of the road and collapsed on the ground, face up.

The two came face to face and, at one point, Mr Borg tripped and ended up with his face to the wall and his back towards the accused. Mr Galea stabbed him in the back and Mr Borg stumbled towards the middle of the road and collapsed on the ground, face up.

The accused approached him once more and stabbed him in the middle of his chest. The victim lost a lot of blood and died a few seconds later.

The accused escaped and was later arrested in Triq Frangisk in Marsaxlokk.

When he was taken to the police headquarters, Mr Galea insisted that he wanted to speak to Inspector Chris Pullicino, despite being informed of his right to silence.

In the presence of two other police officers, the accused told Insp. Pullicino that he had received a call where he was challenged to a fight.

He said he told Mr Borg that he was not a little boy and that he would come up to him and tear him to pieces.

He decided to fetch a harpoon but decided not to because of his girlfriend, instead getting a kitchen knife with an eight inch blade. In front of the police, Mr Galea said that the victim pushed him and he retaliated by stabbing him.

Lara Lanfranco and Kristina Debattista from the Attorney General's Office are leading the prosecution. Giannella de Marco, Joe Giglio and Steve Tonna Lowell are appearing for the accused while Matthew Brincat and Franco Debono are appearing parte civile for the victim's family.

Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi is presiding over the case.

The trial continues tomorrow.