[attach id=266225 size="medium"]Cane Vella shows how the men punched him. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli[/attach]

Disco lights were flashing, the music was thumping and the crowd was dancing.

Cane Vella was moving to the beat in the Havana club in Paceville, together with a couple of workmates, when he was suddenly attacked by five men who beat him to a bloody pulp.

“It was completely unprovoked and totally random. After being punched multiple times in the back of my head, I was left feeling totally confused, flustered and shocked,” the 23-year-old told Times of Malta.

Mr Vella rarely goes to Paceville as the place has lost the attraction it held for him when he was a teenager. However, three weeks ago, he was out celebrating a workmate’s birthday together with another three colleagues in Balzan when the group decided to head to Paceville at about 2.30am.

Once in Havana, he climbed on to the podium together with one of his colleagues. He noticed a man gesturing to him and trying to say something. Mr Vella bent forward but the music was too loud and he couldn’t hear him properly.

Those men knew what they were doing. They were clearly out for a fight

The man leapt on to the podium and pushed Mr Vella. In a matter of seconds, he was grabbed by the legs, dragged down and surrounded by five men who punched him in the back of his head.

He was also hit in the side and his T-shirt was slashed with a sharp object, which Mr Vella suspects was a piece of glass or a penknife.

In the meantime, the crowd scattered but no one intervened to help.

“It happened all so quickly. Thank goodness I wasn’t with my normal crowd of friends whom I’ve known since I was young because they would have definitely got involved and the fight could have been worse,” Mr Vella reflects.

As the men backed off, Mr Vella stumbled to a corner of the club where another man approached him.

“He asked me whether I was OK. When I said yes, he punched me straight in the face.”

It was only at that point that the club’s bouncer intervened. Mr Vella was later told that two of the men were escorted out of the club while the rest scattered into the crowd.

Eventually, he was driven to hospital by one of his colleagues, where he spent the night. He was discharged at about 8am when, deliberately still in his bloodied attire, he made his way to the police station to file a report.

The police requested the club’s CCTV footage but the cameras were positioned over the tills and did not capture the fight.

“I’ve experienced lots of different countries. Malta’s nightlife is good but it’s not safe,” said Mr Vella.

“Malta should ban the use of glass within clubs, like they do abroad.

“The police can’t be everywhere at the same time and I don’t expect them to be but they should be more involved with the security officials at clubs.

“The police were outside the club at the time of the incident. I really wish the bouncer had informed the police.

“They could have taken their identity card numbers. Those men knew what they were doing. They were clearly out for a fight.

Uniformed police need to be very visible to discourage mischief-makers

“Cameras need to cover the entire club. It would make the work of both the police and the club easier.

“I was lucky it was not a serious incident. But what if it had been worse?”

Mr Vella contacted lawyer Anthony Farrugia but has since decided not to press charges due to lack of evidence, compounded by the fact that, next month, he will be leaving to study in the UK.

Dr Farrugia heads the Group Acting for a Safer Paceville, which he started in 2011 after his 22-year-old son was attacked.

“The active and visible presence of the police is highly beneficial,” he told Times of Malta.

“There is more police consciousness but there is still more to be done. There needs to more collaboration with clubs as well as stricter rules.”

The issues of how alcohol is sold and the consumption of alcohol in the streets need to be addressed, he added.

“Police tend to accumulate in the square with their dogs because the business community is not pleased with the presence of the police.

“It’s good to have plain clothes policemen but uniformed officers need to be very visible to discourage mischief-makers.”