A man with psychiatric problems was yesterday charged with stabbing a man in the neck on Saturday and heard that his victim “is lucky to be alive”.

The 57-year-old accused fled the Union Bar in Santa Venera and was found a few streets away covered in blood. The knife was recovered a short time later, Police Inspector Robert Vella said.

The inspector said the incident was very serious and the victim was very lucky to be alive.

The accused pleaded not guilty to trying to kill a man, seriously injuring him, possessing a knife illegally, disturbing the peace and being drunk to the extent he could not take care of himself.

Defence counsel Franco Debono said his client had psychiatric problems and had been under care for a number of years, suggesting he be kept under house arrest since incarceration would be detrimental to him.

He told Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras that his client had a clean police record and his last conviction was 25 years ago for a traffic-related offence.

The magistrate asked the wife of the accused to take the witness stand and state if she was in a position to take care of her husband if he were allowed home. She said she was.

The magistrate remanded the accused in custody and recommended to the prisons director to place him in the forensic unit at Mount Carmel Hospital.