A bouncer today recalled how a sword-wielding aggressor had narrowly missed splitting his head in two,  with the tip of the blade scraping against a lighter in his pocket, causing it to explode. 

“Had someone not shouted ‘look out’ he’d have cleaved my head in two,” the bouncer told a court , identifying the accused in the courtroom.

The man was one of a group of bouncers testifying in the case against Mohamed Ali Ahmed Elmusraty, who together with two other men, had been involved in a scuffle with security guards after being denied entry to a Paceville club in May 2016. 

READ: Paceville fight ends with a Samurai sword

On the night in question, police were alerted to a fight between bouncers and a group of men, one who was armed with a sword and another with a wooden club. 

The men were apparently known to the bouncers , the court, presided over by Magistrate Doreen Clarke, was told.

“They’re always involved in arguments. We had kicked them out three times. But as we had given chances to other persons, we gave them a chance too,” said one of the injured bouncers. 

On the night of the aggression, the three accused smashed tables and glasses and were kicked out of the club. 

When bouncers denied them re-entry, the men allegedly turned on the security officers, with one of them escaping the downswinging sword.

One of the bouncers corroborated his colleague's account and identified "the man over there" as having hit one of the bouncers on the leg with the sword. 

CCTV footage showed the gang of three, including one wearing a mask and brandishing a Samurai-like sword. This weapon was never recovered.

The two other men seen accompanying the accused on the night of the assault, one wearing a cap, were charged separately over the same violent episode. 

The case continues.

Lawyers Franco Debono, Amadeus Cachia and Angie Muscat were defence counsel.