The attack was swift, cold and left a man lying on a blood-soaked courtroom floor with 14 stab wounds to the neck and back, jurors heard as the man charged with the assault pleaded not guilty to attempted murder.

Spurred by the thought of losing two trucks in a civil suit, which were his livelihood, Pasqualino Cefai, 39, stormed the courtroom and repeatedly stabbed the victim in full view of a magistrate, a court was told yesterday.

Seconds before the frenzied attack, Magistrate Josette Demicoli had ordered him out of the court room after he interrupted the proceedings in which the victim, Joseph Portelli, 57, of Żebbuġ, was suing him.

Seconds later he returned holding a knife and began stabbing the victim

Mr Portelli had requested the court to order the seizure of the trucks and transfer ownership to him by way of compensation.

As Mr Portelli’s lawyer, Kevin Mompalao, began his submissions, Mr Cefai did not like what was being said and started making rude remarks and intervening, Police Inspector Bernard Spiteri testified.

At that point, Magistrate Demicoli ordered him out of the court room and seconds later he returned holding a knife and began stabbing the victim, the inspector said.

As Mr Portelli hit the floor, the stabbing continued even as Dr Mompalao and a court usher, Michelangelo Bajada, tried to stop him, the jurors heard.

Dr Mompalao was injured on his right shoulder, where he received a laceration, and Mr Bajada received an injury to his left foot as a metal stand fell on him during the scuffle.

Mr Cefai is pleading not guilty to the attempted murder of Joseph Portelli, causing serious injury to Dr Mompalao, causing slight injury to Mr Bajada and a court usher, and illegal possession of a knife.

In an opening address to the jurors, lawyer Lara Lanfranco, from the Attorney General’s Office, said the victim would have died had he not received immediate medical help, the extent of his injuries were so bad.

The victim was treated by an ambulance crew before being rushed to Gozo General Hospital and a decision had been taken to airlift him to Mater Dei Hospital in Malta but he took a turn for the better and remained in Gozo, the inspector said.

Inspector Spiteri said that in the morning he had been in court and had left at around 11am after finishing his caseload. At noon he received a phone call from Magistrate Demicoli who said that she had bad news.

She said a stabbing had taken place in her court room. He dropped everything and rushed to the court house by which time the ambulance had already arrived.

The police began searching for Mr Cefai in and around his hometown of Żebbuġ in Gozo before he turned up at the police station in Victoria some 45 minutes later.

Lawyer Giannella Busuttil also appeared on behalf of the Attorney General while lawyers Edward Gatt and Mark Vassallo appeared for Mr Cefai.

The trial continues this morning.