A simple workplace argument between two men ended up with one of them being convicted of having unintentionally placed the life of his colleague in serious danger when a mere slap across the face brought about life-threatening injuries.

Leonardo Balzan, 59, had been convicted of involuntary grievous bodily harm and was condemned to an eight-month jail term suspended for 15 months over the incident which occurred in 2013. He had also been ordered to pay court fees to the tune of €1,079.

The accused, who was represented by Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri, appealed the decision delivered last June, basing his appeal on the grounds that the first court had wrongly interpreted the facts and that the punishment was excessive.

The Court of Appeal, presided over by Madame Justice Edwina Grima, observed that the approach adopted on appeal was for the court to refrain from varying the reasoned opinion of the first court, unless there was evidence of a mistake of law or of fact.

It was observed that the accused had insisted that he had never intended to hurt his victim, but had simply taken offence when the latter had called him an 'egoist'. He had reacted by slapping the man across the face.

Indeed, eyewitnesses had testified how, upon being slapped, the victim had lost his balance and had fallen over, striking his head upon the ground.

The court noted that although the accused might never have intended to cause grievous injuries, he had doubtlessly intended some harm. This was evident when he slapped his victim across the face. No matter how minimal the injury intended, the aggressor had to answer for all the consequences of his action.

Claiming that he had been provoked was neither a valid excuse. The court pointed out that the accused had overstepped the limits of proper behaviour when he reacted to the verbal insult with a physical act.

The court turned down the appeal even rejecting the argument that the punishment was excessive. It remarked that the suspended sentence inflicted by the first court was well within the parameters of the law and rather tended towards the minimum.