A 24-year-old Libyan man admitted injuring his Bangladeshi neighbour when he punched him in the face following an argument that broke out in the common area of the Paceville apartment block where they both lived.

Wadea Al Maghrbi, of Tripoli, was conditionally discharged for two years after he admitted slightly injuring Kazusa Fazlo, the illegal possession of a flick-knife and breaching the peace in Ball Street on Tuesday at approximately 11.30pm.

In a separate arraignment held before Magistrate Carol Peralta, the three Bangladeshi flatmates of Mr Fazlo were charged with assaulting and threatening Mr Al Maghrbi during the incident. The three men, who intervened to stop the fight, were Mohammed Saiful Islam, 27, Sayed Mattubber, 23, and Hannan Abdul, 29.

All three pleaded not guilty to injuring Mr Al Maghrbi, threatening to harm him and breaching the peace. Mr Al Maghrbi suffered an injury to his right hand when his knife was snatched from him. The three men, who live in the same apartment block and worked in a restaurant with Mr Fazlo, were each granted bail against a €250 deposit and a personal guarantee of €750. The magistrate upheld the bail request after hearing that they had cooperated with police.

Police Inspector Caroline Fabri prosecuted. Lawyer Christopher Chircop appeared for Mr Al Maghrbi, while lawyer Joseph Giglio represented the three Bangladeshi men.