A man who is undergoing trial by jury for attempted murder had told the police that unless he was sent to prison he would again seek out the person he had targeted.

Taking the witness stand in the trial of Tunisian Farhat Bouchhioua, who stands charged with the attempted murder of Joseph Magro on May 13, 2005, Police Sergeant Major John Micallef said that a few days after the accident, Mr Bouchhioua had told him that if he did not go to prison for what he had done, he would seek out Mr Magro again because he had not paid him for his work.

Mr Bouchhioua allegedly ran over Mr Magro with his car.

In a police statement, which was read out in court, the accused said he had been living in Malta for 14 years and had been married for 10. He had been working on a construction in Msida and Mr Magro was foreman. The accused said he was owed Lm1,000 for the work he had done but was only paid Lm212.

Mr Bouchhioua said he kept requesting the money but there was always some excuse for him not to be paid.

He admitted to going to the building site and running over Mr Magro with the intent of killing him because, he told the police, he had not been paid the money he was due. Mr Magro also used to annoy him.

In the incident Mr Magro had suffered bruises, scrapes and cuts, certified by a doctor as slight injuries.

Mr Magro testified that he had never seen the car but heard it coming at speed towards him. He said he was trapped between the wall of the construction site and the car and as he fell down, the accused got out walked over to him and told him “I came here to kill you”.

Mr Magro said that he tried to stand up but fell and the accused then tried to kick him twice but he got out of the way.

“To this day, I still do not know why he wanted to kill me,” he said.

The trial continues.