A father and his son were this morning acquitted of all charges - which originally included attempted murder - after their alleged victim had renounced to criminal charges.

Josef Grech, the man behind the unofficial biography of late former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff had claimed that the men tried to attack him with a sickle.

Mr Grech, 32, used to date a girl half his age and had claimed her grandfather John Vassallo, 63, and her uncle Johann Vassallo, 23 attacked him with the  sickle thinking the teenager was with him after she had run away from home.

When he testified, Mr Grech claimed the grandfather chased him. After covering some distance, Mr Grech said  he stopped to try and reason things out but the grandfather waved the sickle at him and, at one point, he found himself on the ground.

The uncle then kicked him and the grandfather placed a white nylon cord around his neck and wound it three or four times before telling him that he would tie him to the van and drive off.

He was hit with the sickle on his left side, he added. The police arrived soon afterwards and brought the situation under control.

John and Johann Vassallo were originally charged with trying to kill Mr Grech but the Attorney General downgraded the charge to attempted serious injury. Once Mr Grech renounced criminal action, other charges against the men, such as causing minor injury, were dropped. However, the charges of attempted serious injury and breaching public peace remained.

However Magistrate Carol Peralta this morning acquitted the men of all charges other than disturbing the peace, and conditionally discharged them. 

Lawyers Franco Debono and Maria Azzopardi were defence counsel.