Updated 5.15pm - A bouncer told jurors this morning how he saw a white man hit a black man who then fell to the ground and started bleeding from the head.

"He went down cold (nizel cappa). Boom.  Knockout," bouncer Jesmond Vella said.

He said he heard the hit and then the sound of the man hit the ground. He also said he heard a "fffff" sound and saw blood ooze out of the back of the man's head.

He was testifying in the trial by jury against Romanian Antonel Dobre, 29, who is pleading not guilty to seriously injuring Sudanese Osama Al Shazliay Saleh -  26,  known to his friends as Sunshine - in Paceville on March 17, 2012, at about 6am.

The prosecution is claiming that Mr Dobre punched Mr Saleh in the face, causing him to fall, hit his head and suffer brain haemorrhage that led to his death three days later.

Mr Vella said that, at the time, he was a bouncer at Clique and was stationed by the door. Outside he saw a dark-skinned man talk to two white men. Everything seemed normal.

"I saw them talking and, suddenly, a white man hit the black man and he fell on the floor. I told him: 'Why?'... Then I don't know what happened. There was chaos," he said adding that he then focused on the dark man while the others left.

Asked to describe the hit, he said time passed and there was the CCTV footage that showed what happened. He then confirmed what he said in the statement released to police three years ago where he said he saw the white man hit the black man, in a swinging manner, and hit him on the right temple.

Romanian Radu Rica, who was with Mr Dobre that night, continued testifying today when he described how, when he and Mr Dobre walked out of the Paceville club, Mr Saleh went towards him angrily. Mr Saleh, he said, had earlier elbowed him in the face for no reason.

Bouncers intervened to stop Mr Saleh outside. Meanwhile Mr Dobre, who was standing on Mr Saleh' left hand side, pushed Mr Saleh with his left arm. Mr Dobre's palm was open and he pushed Mr Saleh from the face.

Asked to describe whether it was slap, a punch or a push, he said it was more of a push with one hand. It was a hooking motion, he said.

Mr Saleh then lost his balance and fell backwards. He said that he believed Mr Saleh was drunk because of the way he was behaving. He and Mr Dobre left when they saw Mr Saleh try to get up.

He did not remember hearing the sound of the slap but remembered the sound of Mr Saleh hit his head against the ground, he said adding that Mr Saleh was standing on a slope.

"I was trying to forget this incident and now I'm trying to remember," he said when asked to recall certain details.

DOCTORS DESCRIBE INJURIES

Court expert Mario Scerri examined the victim in hospital on March 17. He was unconscious and had a laceration to the back of his head. He had fixed dilated pupils - a bad sign as this meant there was no communication between the brain and the eyes.

Scans showed a fractured skull, internal bruising and brain haemorrhage. A toxicology report showed that his alcohol level was below the driving limit. The following day there was no brain activity and he was declared brain dead. On March 20 he was pronounced dead.

Dr Scerri said the victim had suffered a haematoma - or internal bruising - on the right of the brain that could have been caused by a strong blow. This type of injury causes a "catastrophe in the brain", he said.

There were no external fractures and this could be because he may have been hit with the fleshy part of the palm that would have cushioned the blow - resulting in no external injuries but still leading to internal haemorrhage.

He also had a laceration at the back of the head compatible with being hit or with hitting his head. The probability, he said, was that the victim first suffered the haematoma then hit his head on the ground. Both injuries were considered life threatening.

Pathologists Ali Salfraz and Marie Therese Camilleri Podesta carried out the autopsy on March 22, 2012, and concluded that the cause of death was a fractured skull and internal haemorrhage caused by blunt trauma.

Lawyers Kevin Valletta and Nadia Attard, from the Attorney General's office, are prosecuting.

Lawyer Roberto Montalto is representing Mr Dobre while lawyer Larry Formosa is acting in parte civile.