A young homeless man who on Saturday afternoon stripped naked and gestured offensively towards a female detention officer at the Marsa migrants centre, was remanded in custody after pleading not guilty during his arraignment on Monday.

Sahir Saif Faisel Ibrahim, a 22-year old Somali national who has no place to call home, was arrested and marched to court facing multiple charges in relation to last Saturday’s incident when he allegedly insulted two detention officers.

As words gave way to gestures, the evidently drunken man had hurled an empty beer bottle in the direction of the two officers, before proceeding to pull down his trousers and gesturing towards the female of the two.

Following the commotion, the man was arrested, appearing in court on Monday where he pleaded not guilty to having threatened the two officers who were on duty, offended public morals, undressed in public and flung an empty bottle at the alleged victims.

The man was further charged with having led an idle and vagrant life, breached the peace, was drunk in public and was also a recidivist.

Legal aid lawyer Graziella Tanti, appointed to assist the accused, requested the court to appoint a psychiatrist to assess whether her client was fit to stand trial, a request which sparked off a somewhat heated interlude between the man himself and his interpreter.

Standing up and gesturing his intention to address the court, the arrested man was told to speak to his lawyer who, with the help of the interpreter, patiently tried to explain her request to her client who, also insisted upon requesting bail.

Duty magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras appointed a psychiatrist to assess the accused.

However, the request for bail was turned down on the grounds that the man had no address and could not offer the guarantees required by law.

Inspector Alfredo Mangion prosecuted.