A man yesterday told a court how another hunter allegedly stabbed him with a penknife after he had asked him to leave his field. The hunter, however, gave a totally different version of events, claiming that the farmer hit him on the back of the head with the butt of his shotgun.

Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono yesterday started hearing the trial by jury of Carmelo Sultana, 42, from Attard, who is being accused of attempting to murder Constantine Borg, 43, with a pen knife. The case dates back to 15 April, 2006.

Testifying in court yesterday, the victim (Borg) said that he was hunting in a field owned by a friend of his, located in Bahar ic-Caghaq, when he saw a man enter the field.

Mr Borg said that a number of hunters trespass the field on a regular basis as it spans around 15 tumoli, but when he encountered Mr Sultana, he asked him politely to leave the field because he was also hunting for quail.

At this request, Mr Borg said, the accused swore at him repeatedly, and at one point also insulted his mother. He felt particularly offended at this, he told the jurors yesterday, and admitted that he hurled insults back at Mr Borg.

According to Mr Borg, the accused then left the field and was seen to rest his gun next to his car which was parked outside the field.

Just as he did so, Mr Borg said, he saw Mr Sultana rush towards him yelling and brandishing a pen knife in the air. Mr Borg said that he froze on the spot, and defended himself by holding his gun in a horizontal manner in front of him.

Nevertheless, said the victim, Mr Sultana stabbed him first in the back, and as a result of the commotion that ensued, also stabbed him towards the back of his head.

Mr Borg said he fought tirelessly to wrestle the pen knife away from him, but Mr Sultana also repeatedly hit him four times in succession on his wrist, to which he later needed 10 stitches to stem the flow of blood.

Just before he fled from the scene of the incident, Mr Borg said he managed to catch a glimpse of the accused’s number plate, and wrote it down on the bonnet of his Mitsubishi pick-up van. He then drove to hospital, where he was treated for his wounds in the emergency department.

During cross examination, defence lawyer Arthur Azzopardi gave a detailed account of Mr Borg’s history, saying that he was involved in a series of previous altercations with the police in his younger days.

Mr Borg insisted that he instructed Mr Sultana to leave the field in a calm and polite manner.

The accused also testified yesterday. Mr Sultana said that other hunters advised him that depending on the direction of the wind, the field in question would be best suited when hunting for quail.

Mr Sultana said he decided to check this out the following day, with the company of his dog.

He had barely strung two paces together, said the accused, when he heard some shouting. Even though he turned his head, he did not see anyone.

After a while, he saw a man whom he had never seen before approach him, and according to the accused, the man (Borg), starting hurling all sorts of insults in his direction, ordering him to leave the area immediately.

However, Mr Sultana said that just as he attempted to leave, and with his back towards him, Mr Borg hit him on his head with the butt of his shotgun. Mr Sultana said that seconds passed before Mr Borg hit him again on his head.

In an act of self-defence, said Mr Sultana, who at this point started crying in court, he took out a pen knife from the car, and hit Mr Borg. This was necessary, according to the accused, because the victim had at that point raised the gun to hit him again.

Mr Sultana then said he drove off soon after, scared stiff that Mr Borg might drive after him, and started crying, before stopping at his mother’s residence, pouring his heart out to his father about what had happened.

Shortly after recounting his ordeal to his father, Mr Sultana said that he heard on the radio that the police were looking for him and as a result, he turned himself in at the Birkirkara police station.

Prosecuting, Aaron Bugeja from the Attorney General’s office asked Mr Sultana on the whereabouts of the pen knife. Mr Sultana said that in the heat of the moment, he did not know what he had done with it.

The pen knife has never been found.

In his testimony, Police Inspector Ramon Mercieca said that as the accused appeared at the Birkirkara police station, he was nursing wounds to his head, the tip of one of his fingers was missing and parts of his clothing were tainted with blood.

As a result, he was taken to the Mosta Health centre for treatment before the police took his statement.

Assisting Dr Azzopardi is Emmanuel Mallia.

The case continues.