Emanuel Farrugia, who stands accused of having stabbed and critically injured a man in Attard in October 2008, insisted in court today that he was acting in self-defence.

Mr Farrugia stands accused of the attempted murder of Carmelo Falzon, of Zabbar, who he allegedly stabbed and slashed five times with a flick knife.

Taking the witness stand, he said he had gone to the Sta Marija Stella Levantina band club in Attard to watch a billiards match. All seemed normal, and he even bought drinks for the victim.

After the game, he was relieving himself against a wall when he heard somebody swearing at him. He noted that it was the victim and another two men.

He crossed the road and confronted the three men. Mr Falzon started hitting him and he tried to kick him back.

Mr Farrugia said he fell to the ground and the victim started hitting him on the head. At that time he produced the flick knife from his back pocket and  open it by scrapping it against the ground. He waved it at the victim, who then got up and ran off. 

Mr Farrugia said he never intended to injure Mr Falzon and had been simply protecting himself.

Forensics expert Dr Mario Scerri said the injuries suffered by Mr Falzon were actually slight, but they were classified as grievous because they left permanent scarring on the victim's face