A 44-year-old cook was handed a suspended sentence today after admitting in court to attacking his shipmate with a knife and causing him grievous injuries.

The incident happened in the early hours of Tuesday when Libyan national Khaled Ahmed Elfghi attacked 35-year-old Ali Mohamed Mohamed with a knife following a drunken argument. The incident took place onboard the MV Shada which was docked in a Marsa shipyard.

The victim suffering a neck wound. He was immediately conveyed to Mater Dei Hospital, where it was established that he had sustained grievous injuries.

Mr Mohamed took the witness stand and told the court that he forgave Mr Elfghi for injuring him.

Lawyer Martin Fenech told Magistrate Francesco Depasquale that the victim and the accused were friends whose families knew each other.

In view of the fact that it was a one-time incident, that the accused entered an early guilty plea and that the victim forgave him, the lawyer appealed for a suspended sentence.

He also observed that the accused lived abroad and would in fact be leaving the island as soon as the vessel left the shipyard.

The court noted the seriousness of the crime but also observed the fact that the victim forgave the accused and that the accused has a clean criminal record. 

The accused was therefore condemned to three years imprisonment suspended for four years. 

"Don't make any more mistakes and you can stay in Malta for as long as you please," the magistrate warned the accused. 

Police inspector Jeffrey Scicluna prosecuted.