A court-appointed psychiatrist gave evidence today on the mental state of Pasqualino Cefai, who stands accused of stabbing Joseph Portelli and injuring lawyer Kevin Mompalao  at the Gozo court on  June 6.

Dr Joseph Vella Baldacchino said he examined Mr Cefai at Mount Carmel Hospital on June 7.

He said he was under pressure to issue the report as the police wanted to see if they could arraign Mr Cefai, Dr Vella Baldacchino said.   

Replying to questions by defence lawyer Giannella de Marco, Dr Vella Baldacchino said there were no evident signs of strong depression when he examined Mr Cefai.

He said the accused had a family history of mental health problems and was under a psychiatrist’s care. However, time had passed since he last met the doctor and he had not been  taking his pills for at least a month before the incident.

When asked by Dr de Marco whether not taking medication could exacerbate his depression, Dr Vella Baldacchino said yes.

A request for bail was refused as the main victim has not yet testified. Mr Portelli, who was due to testify today but did not turn up. A medical certificate was presented to the magistrate during the sitting.

Dr de Marco queried the certificate and asked the court to summon the doctor who issued the medical certificate.

“I heard that he recently went to his daughter’s wedding,” she said while pointing out that if he suffered from an asthma attack, she suffered from them too and still turned up.

She said she was disappointed that Mr Portelli had not yet been called to testify since the incident and pointed out that if the prosecution was so worried about him, they would have called him immediately.

Magistrate Camilleri accepted her request and ordered the prosecution to issue a summons to the doctor.