A rescuer who was the first to arrive on a murder scene found the victim covered in blood, with half his face blown off but still alive.

Christian Mangion, a former policeman who at the time was a rescuer with St John Ambulance, said although Alphonse Ferriggi was alive there was nothing he could do for him. He died seconds later.

Mr Mangion was testifying in the case against James Vella, 33, of Qormi, known as Il-Frejżer, and Chris Scerri, 35, of Pietá, known as Gazzetti or Buttuni, who deny killing Mr Ferriggi, 42, on September 18, 2000 outside the Bank of Valletta branch in San Ġwann.

Mr Mangion, who lived about 25 metres away, said he was on his roof at about 5am when he heard a gunshot and looked over. He saw his neighbour, Mario Saliba, a policeman, who said “they fired at the bank”, then rushed downstairs and found the victim on the pavement.

Mr Saliba told the court he saw a black car that looked like a Honda Civic or a Volkswagen Golf speeding off after making a U-turn.

Police Inspector Keith Arnaud asked Magistrate Josette Demicoli to declare the accused could be placed under a bill of indictment, meaning there was enough evidence for the case to continue.

Defence lawyer Franco Debono argued that the evidence produced so far was far from sufficient.

It was not even enough to suggest there had been an attempt to commit a crime, let alone that a crime had actually occurred, he argued.

The prosecuting office noted this was a court of inquiry and, so, it did not have to go into the merits of the case.

The magistrate declared there was sufficient evidence to place both men under a bill of indictment and remanded them in custody.