Being in a state of intoxication is no excuse or legal defence to the use of violence, a magistrate said on Wednesday as he sent a man who grievously injured two people to two years in jail.

Duale Abokor Mustafa, a 37-year old Somali residing at Xewkija, was found guilty over the stabbing incident which took place in 2015 when a violent argument broke out between the three Somalis in St John the Baptist Square, Xewkija.

All three men were under the influence of alcohol at the time of the fight with the accused himself, whilst not denying that he had stabbed the victims, admitting that he had been too drunk to remember what had happened.

This admission found no favour with Magistrate Joseph Mifsud, presiding over the Gozo court, who strongly declared that such a violent act against a human being was to be addressed with an effective punishment “a punishment which will make the aggressor realise that such behaviour is not tolerated”.

“There is simply no room for violence in a democratic and law-abiding state. Being in a state of intoxication is no excuse or legal defence to the use of violence. Society needs to be protected. Justice is to be done,” he said.

Although the overwhelming majority of foreigners on the island were “peaceful and law abiding”, Magistrate Mifsud expressed concern over the growing number of crimes being committed by a small number of foreigners, describing the current situation as “intolerable”.

On the strength of medical evidence, the court cleared the accused of the attempted murder of the two victims, but found him guilty of having wilfully caused grievous bodily harm and of having been in possession of a knife without the necessary licence.

A two-year protection order was issued in favour of the victims.
A suspended sentence stemming from a separate case, where the accused had admitted to damaging a car and being drunk in public, was also extended by a year.