Three brothers were beaten up early this morning in Paceville by two men, one of whom is believed to be a police officer.
Two of the brothers, Omar and Alek Debono, told timesofmalta.com this evening they were walking back to their car in the direction of Swieqi at around 3 a.m., when their other brother, Matthew, spat on the ground.
One of two men who were walking close to them in same direction told Matthew and he smiled.
One of the men, who the brothers were later told was a policeman, punched Matthew in the face.
He ended up on the floor being punched by the man and his friend. Omar was in the meantime hit in the back of his head and he slumped on to the ground and broke three teeth.
The two brothers said that Alek started filming the incident with his mobile phone.
One of the attackers hit Alek and took the mobile. About six policemen, including a sergeant, arrived on the scene.
They separated the brothers and the two men and asked everyone for their details. The man, who the brothers were told was a police officer, refused to give his details and hand over the phone, which had ended up in his hand, but it was clear that the sergeant knew him and he kept calling him sir.
Eventually he handed the mobile over to the police and it was eventually given back to the brothers. However, the attackers were not arrested.
The brothers said they were first taken to St Julian's police station and then to hospital, where Matthew had sutures applied to his left eye and severe bruising. He is still in hospital.
This morning, the two brothers filed a police report on the advice of their lawyer Jose Herrera. They said that the police officers they spoke to acted correctly and they did not get the impression they were trying to cover up for their colleague.
Dr Herrera, who is also the Labour Party's spokesman for Justice, said this was not the first incident involving police and he called on the minister to hold a public inquiry.
The brothers' relatives were were informed that the policeman involved is to be charged in court. This, however, could not be confirmed with the police.
Police sources denied this version of events and said it was the brothers who started the fight after they were apprehended for destroying plants in the area.