Vince Farrugia is telling visitors he feels like a "beaten dog" as he convalesces at home following the brutal attack he suffered at his office in Valletta last Thursday.

The director-general of the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises - GRTU - is still in shock after being severely beaten, the first assault on a high profile Maltese official in years.

Mr Farrugia, 65, has declined to comment on the incident.

But he is telling friends and colleagues the "terrible experience" has left him traumatised and with a feeling of "degradation".

A family friend who did not wish to be named said that Mr Farrugia told him: "You feel like a beast is mauling you."

Mr Farrugia left hospital last Friday a day after he was assaulted at the GRTU offices in Valletta. Developer Sandro Chetcuti, 38, has been charged with attempted murder as well as causing injury to Mr Farrugia.

Mr Farrugia is nursing bruises to his chest and face, including five stitches above his eye. He was fortunate not to have suffered any internal injuries, though further tests are required on one eye. He is still in a lot of pain and has difficulty breathing properly, according to sources.

In the compilation of evidence in the case against Mr Chetcuti, who is a GRTU council member, the court heard how he had waited for 90 minutes to speak to Mr Farrugia before entering the director general's office for a private conversation.

Shortly afterwards, shouting and banging could be heard and when employees rushed in, they found Mr Farrugia face down, bleeding from his head.

The court was told it took three men to pull Mr Chetcuti away from Mr Farrugia and, as they escorted him out of the building, the aggressor allegedly told the GRTU boss: "If not today, tomorrow. I will kill you."

Mr Chetcuti pleaded not guilty to the charges while the GRTU director-general has yet to testify.

The attack allegedly took place after a text message erroneously sent from Mr Chetcuti's phone to the GRTU director general the previous day led to a difference of opinion between the two, with Mr Farrugia advising Mr Chetcuti that he would lose his credibility if he leaked information from within the GRTU.

Mr Farrugia was then assaulted before GRTU president Paul Abela and two other union officials intervened in "the nick of time", allegedly pulling Mr Chetcuti away from the director general.

Mr Farrugia is telling friends that he never expected Mr Chetcuti to behave in such a manner, particularly because he was the one who had recommended him for the post.