Anthony Borg (Known as Il-Bona) frequently donated money to charitable institutions his brother said in court today as he was questioned about his deceased brother's alleged usury practice and violent methods of extracting money from borrowers.

Frans Borg took the witness stand during the trial by jury of Allan Galea, who stands accused of fatally stabbing Anthony Borg in Marsaxlokk  on February 21, 2010.

Mr Borg told the jury that, on the day, while he was at the PN club, he remembered his brother ask for the accused's phone number so that they could "square things up" between them. Repeatedly pressed on what he wanted to "square", Mr Borg said he had no idea what the issue between the two was.  

He then spotted Mr Galea walking down the road with a knife in hand.

"Allan told Twanny (Anthony): 'ejja pufta'. Twanny moved from beside me, opened his van which was parked nearby and got out something. He walked a couple of paces forward and fired two shots into the air," Mr Borg told the jury, extending his arm by way of demonstration and adding that his brother subsequently flung the weapon to the ground.

The two were around 40 meters apart at this point.

The two approached each other, with the deceased tripping over the pavement and bumping his head against the wall.

"My brother didn't even touch Allan," Mr Borg insisted.

The accused knifed the deceased, first stabbing him in the legs, then in the back, upon which he collapsed. Mr Galea then "jumped" on him and stabbed him in the heart, Mr Borg said.

Mr Borg knelt over his brother, sobbing, while Mr Galea walked away, throwing the knife between cars.

Some 10 minutes later, he saw the accused return with a knife.

Clifton Cassar disarmed and Mr Borg said he proceeded to punch and beat up the accused with all his might.

Leading the cross-examination, defence lawyer Giannella de Marco pointed out that, in Mr Borg's initial statement given to the police, a number of details were painted quite differently. He had never once mentioned that the accused had insulted the deceased by calling him "pufta", nor that he saw his brother fire shots into the air.

The witness replied that the first statement contained a number of inaccuracies because he was still in shock at seeing his brother being stabbed.

Dr de Marco read excerpts from five statements he had given the police and the inquiring magistrate, none of which mention that he had seen his brother aim his gun into the air upon seeing Mr Galea.

"You also never said that Allan was waving the knife about except much later, when you tried to justify Anthony il-Bona's behaviour  upon learning that he had actually fired shots.

"You are all like parrots - yourself, Clifton and Claire Magri (the deceased's girlfriend)," Dr de Marco goaded, adding that the trio had been advised by their lawyers to memorise the last statement they had given.

"What is Bona Power? What did he mean by 'Power'?" De de Marco questioned, referring to the phrase the deceased used to refer to himself in messages, a tattoo on his forearm and on a registration plate of one of his cars.

Mr Borg said he never heard people refer to him as Power.

"What was his job?" Dr de Marco questioned.

"Don't drag in stuff about usury because this has nothing to do with it," Mr Borg shot back.

The tense atmosphere escalated, with Mr Borg growling at Dr de Marco to lower her voice and to stop asking him the same question from different angles.

Dr de Marco remarked that it was the court's duty to stop her if she were asking the wrong questions.

Asked whether he saw the word "power" emblazoned on the car registration plate, Mr Borg said his brother owned a number of cars.

At this, De de Marco launched into a series of questions, asking from where the deceased had obtained his money. Mr Borg grew visibly uncomfortable and remained silent, occasionally mumbling: "I don't know."

"Do you know whether Anthony il-Bona beat people up to get his money back? Was it true that he flung someone into a grave? Do you know that there were people who had to leave the country due to the way your brother harassed them? Do you know he carried a weapon?"

"I don't know," came the reluctant reply.

Lara Lanfranco and Kristina Debattista from the Attorney General's Office are leading the prosecution. Giannella de Marco, Joe Giglio and Steve Tonna Lowell are appearing for the accused while Matthew Brincat and Franco Debono are appearing parte civile for the victim's family.

Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi is presiding over the case