A policeman who responded to a request for assistance while a man was being arrested in Mgarr, and who later claimed he was beaten up by the police, told a court today that he did not recall seeing any blood on the man's face. 

Kurt Gauci told Magistrate Carol Peralta that while Jean Paul Aquilina had a small laceration under his left eye, he did not recall seeing blood. 

He was one of the Rapid Intervention Unit officers who intervened after his colleagues requested assistance during the arrest early on May 30. 

Mr Gauci was testifying in the compilation of evidence against Mr Aquilina who stands charged with resisting arrest and disobeying police orders. An internal inquiry had been launched after he claimed that he had been beaten up by the police. 

During the last sitting, the court was informed that criminal action will be taken against the two RIU police officers who were involved in Mr Aquilina's arrest - Mark Tonna and David Camilleri. 

Mr Gauci said that when he got to the scene, he saw three people, two of whom were on the ground and another on his knees. 

He recalled how a woman, whom he later identified as Mr Aquilina’s girlfriend, was begging the police not to beat up her boyfriend.

"I saw a policeman on the floor, Jean Paul was on top of him with his hands around his neck. I saw another policeman with a cap on trying to restrain him," he said.

He said they eventually succeeded in putting the suspect in handcuffs, he said. A short while later, a van pulled up with five people inside. They were Mr Aquilina's relatives who demanded information on why Mr Aquilina had been beaten up. 

Asked by the court whether he recalled seeing any injuries, Mr Gauci said Mr Aquilina had a cut underneath his eye. 

Mr Gauci added that Mr Aquilina was "red in the face" and "wondered what he had taken as he was not behaving normally". 

When he was shown a photograph of injuries sustained by Mr Aquilina, Mr Gauci said he had not noticed the injury to the nose but confirmed the laceration under the eye. He said he did not recall seeing any blood on his face or clothes in the five minutes he spent at the scene. 

Mr Aquilina's lawyer, Mario de Marco, pressed Mr Gauci on why he had not asked Mr Aquilina how he had got injured but Mr Gauci said he had not asked. He added that he got the impression that Mr Aquilina and the police officers "knew each other". 

The case continues.