A man who stabbed the mother of his child multiple times using a fishing knife has been ordered to pay €70,125 in damages by a civil court. 

Clive Farrugia, of Cospicua, had been jailed for 40 years in December 2014 after pleading guilty to the murder of the mother of his former partner, after she rushed to stop him from stabbing her daughter. 

Mr Farrugia and Mary Grace Vella had previously had a relationship, and the accused had refused to accept that she had started seeing another man. He subsequently attacked her with a knife in 2009. 

A civil court presided by judge Mark Chetcuti heard how, following the traumatic incident, Ms Vella had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Doctors also reported her as having suffered from a significant permanent disability as a result of the attack. 

Using Ms Vella's age, health and the minimum wage at the time of the attack as benchmarks, the court ordered Mr Farrugia to pay the victim €70,125 in compensation.