The unruly behaviour of a child out for a meal with family members, sparked off a violent argument which transformed the dining experience of a Belgian couple into a nightmare and landed two Maltese men in court.

Hossam Amgad Anwar Aly Elnily, 21, and Alessandro Tabone, 34, both from Paola were arraigned on Monday afternoon and charged with having seriously injured an elderly Belgian man and slightly injured his wife in an incident which unfolded last Friday at a Mellieħa restaurant.

Taking the witness stand, the 66-year old Belgian man, on holiday in Malta, recounted how he and his wife had been dining at a Brazilian restaurant at a resort when they had to change places after a child sitting close by splashed water on his wife's jacket.

Yet, soon after, the foreign couple were once again interrupted when the same child began to kick the back of his wife's chair, forcing her to take up an alternative seat for the second time.

Upon noticing this movement, the child's mother allegedly approached the elderly couple remarking "you don’t like my child".

It was then that Mr Tabone, who had been sitting next to the child’s mother, appeared to lose his temper suddenly, uttering foul language and walking up to the foreign couple who had been interrupted halfway through their meal.

The other man picked up a chair and hit him with it repeatedly. There was blood.

"This man wanted to fight but I didn't come to Malta to fight. He pushed me several times and cut my ear...” testified the Belgian man, recalling how Mr Tabone also hurled a chair at him. The younger co-accused allegedly overturned two tables adding further to the fracas.

In the violent incident, the witness's wife was pushed over, landing on the ground and injuring a leg, the man continued, recalling how a woman tried to calm down the aggressive men. However, all was in vain.

“It was a lot of aggression without any reason,” the victim concluded. He denied that he had somehow offensively gestured to the co-accused.

“I'm not a killer, I'm a tourist. I was eating my dessert,” the man emphasised, before stepping aside for his wife who was next to testify.

The woman explained how when she had addressed the mother, advising her to keep an eye on the misbehaving child, she was sworn at and kicked, while her husband had been pushed to the ground.

"The other man picked up a chair and hit him with it repeatedly. There was blood," the woman recalled, telling the court how the man overturned a table, glasses, plates and all.

Before leaving the witness stand, the woman pointed towards a scratched leg, allegedly suffered when she was pushed over by Mr Tabone.

After pleading not guilty, the two co-accused requested bail which was granted against a personal guarantee of €1,000.

Inspector Maurice Curmi prosecuted.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia were defence counsel.