A Libyan man yesterday testified that he was attacked by a good friend for no reason at all and that because he was scared of him, he stabbed him with a blade even though he knew that he might kill him.

Moamr Ali Melad Eltarhuni, 27, stands charged with the attempted murder of Shokri Ali Alalwani on May 25, 2006 in Marsascala.

He said that on the day in question he was at the flat which they shared when Mr Alalwani came in very drunk.

He was watching television and his friend went straight to his own bedroom looking for a CD. When Mr Alalwani failed to find it, he asked Mr Eltarhuni for it but the accused told him he knew nothing about it.

For no reason at all, however, his friend began punching him in the head "very hard and with all his strength".

He was frightened, grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stabbed him with it. He could not remember much about the incident from that point on, saying he left the flat and spent the night by the sea.

The lawyer from the Attorney General's Office, Maurizio Cordina, asked Mr Eltarhuni if he knew at that point in time that the victim could have died because he used a knife on him. The accused replied he did.

Taking the witness stand, Superintendent Carmelo Magri said that when he spoke to him, the accused denied he attacked the victim with the intention to kill.

According to his statement, he had been in Malta for five months. He told the police that the victim had begun punching him and another friend tried to stop the fight.

He waved the knife at him and hit him twice in the neck, once in the stomach and once on his ear.

Asked if he wanted to add anything to his testimony, Mr Eltarhuni said that he was sorry for what had happened.

The trial is expected to draw to a close today.