A 19-year-old who was yesterday charged with assaulting two policemen denied the claims and insisted it was the officers who beat him.
Claudio Overend, of Swieqi, pleaded not guilty to slightly injuring Police Inspector Pierre Grech and PC John Farrugia following a disagreement that escalated when he temporarily blocked the road while parking in Sliema on Thursday at 7 p.m.
He was also charged with threatening and assaulting the officers, disobeying police and swearing in public.
Lawyers José Herrera and Veronique Dalli, who represented Mr Overend, explained that the incident happened when their client was trying to park his car in Sliema.
A police car that was behind Mr Overend, who was accompanied by his girlfriend, started signalling at him to get out of the way. He told them to wait till he parked and the officers allegedly got out of the car and told him not to be impolite to police, the lawyers said.
Mr Overend and his girlfriend, who in the meantime got out of the parked car, were then pushed around by the officers and Mr Overend was beaten, the lawyers said.
They added that, after their client was arrested, he requested to be visited by a doctor he trusted but officers did not allow it "for some incomprehensible reason".
Police Inspector Anne Marie Micallef, prosecuting, denied the version Mr Overend had given to his lawyers. She explained that a report about his police beating allegations had been filed and investigations were ongoing.
The inspector said Mr Overend never asked to see his doctor and refused the police's offer to be visited by a doctor from the Floriana health centre. Police eventually called the doctor anyway and Mr Overend agreed to be seen.
Magistrate Tonio Micallef Trigona noted that, given the charges, there was no reason for the young man to have been arraigned on the weekend after having been arrested for over 24 hours.
He commented that he could have easily been granted police bail and charged during a normal district sitting.
Mr Overend was granted bail against a personal guarantee of €1,000.