Former Labour MP Anthony Zammit took to the witness stand this afternoon, promising to not “shy away from telling things as they were.”

Zammit immediately started to fight back the tears, with the Judge telling him to calm down. 

Taking things from the top, Zammit explained that Zurrieq mayor Natius Farrugia picked him up from the Zebbug square at around 10pm to go for a meal together with some mutual friends.

Zammit said that Farrugia dropped him off home at 2:10am. 

Three men appeared as soon as Zammit started to drop off to sleep

As soon as he started to drop off to sleep, Zammit saw three people in front of him.

Looking at the accused in court, he said that the “tall and skinny” man was the first person to jump him and try to restrain him.

Zammit said he was repeatedly beaten on his face and stomach, ending up overwhelmed by the three men, who demanded e20,000 in cash.

Zammit told the men that he did not have that sort of cash at home, but trying to calm his aggressors, he pointed out that there is a bank a stone’s throw away from his residence.

'I was fighting for my life'

The victim said that the accused is a deft hand when it comes to tying a knot, and used a lamp wire to “tie my legs up in an instant.”

He described the moment when he looked into one of his aggressor’s eyes when a sawn-off shotgun was pressed to his head.

“I was fighing for my life,” he said.

Zammit said that the three men’s faces were all covered, but he observed their gait and mannerisms closely. 

“Do you know that I am an MP. Do you know that if you are caught it carries a harsher penalty,” Zammit told the accused, to which the accused replied, “I do not give a damn.” 

Zammit said the accused has very distinctive mannerisms, describing his as fidgety and having a very long stride.

At this point, two of the aggressors left Zammit's bedroom, leaving the victim and the accused alone.

'I'm dying, I'm dying'

The accused crouched down by the bed, and put his face right up to Zammit’s. This was the first time that he got to look directly into his eyes, Zammit told the court.

The accused placed his revolver against a pillow in order to muffle any gunshots, Zammit said. 

Zammit drank a bottle of beer before going to sleep, which he left at his bedside. The accused found the bottle and pressed it against Zammit’s head, chest and buttocks, commenting, “you have a nice ass.”

The accused threatened to cut off Zammit’s fingers and toes one by one if he did not hand over any money.

“I knew that if I screamed at this point I would aggravate him more.”

“It was a battle of wits,” Zammit said. 

The situation escalated when the other aggressors returned. Zammit said that they stuffed a shirt into his mouth and held his nose to stop him from breathing.

Battling to remain conscious, the beatings continued, with multiple blows to his legs and kidneys, Zammit said. 

Zammit said that he started to cry out at this point, saying “I’m dying, I’m dying.”

Seeing that they were not going to get the desired amount of cash out of him, the aggressors soon gave up.

The next thing he knew, Zammit heard the voice of his handyman Philip Schembri, accompanied by a policeman.

The policeman smashed down his bedroom door, and the pair untied him.

“I asked them for a t-shirt and put on some shorts,” Zammit said.

Zammit said that he suffered permanent damage to his vision after the attack.

“Portomaso now looks like it was hit by one of the planes of the Twin Towers,” Zammit said in describing the problems with his vision. 

Shown the sawn-off shotgun used in the theft, Zammit was again close to tears, saying, “it brings back memories.”

Zammit then grabbed the gun off the court usher and crouched down in the witness stand, demonstrating Ellul’s pose when he put a gun to his head.

Thiefs knew layout of the house

Questioned by the prosecution, Zammit himself acknowledged that for his aggressors to have instantly found their way to his bedroom from downstairs, they must have had prior knowledge of his “nice old house.” 

On the accused's lisp, Zammit said that the lisp only came out when he was under stress.

On the confrontation with Christopher Shepherd, the person who handed over the names of the robbers to Zammit a year after the theft, Zammit said he initially feared that Shepherd was going to try and extort him in exchange for handing over the information.

Discrepancies emerge under cross-examination

Under cross-examination, defence lawyer Josette Sultana pointed out a number of discrepancies in Zammit’s testimony today and the version of events given to a court expert soon after the 2008 incident.

Acting condescendingly at times, Zammit said that the court expert had muddled up the version of events and the estimated age of one of the aggressors.

He said that the statement given was never read out to him by the court expert.

In his original statement, Zammit had said that the accused at one point threatened him with a hammer. Testifying today, Zammit said that the accused threatened him with a pair of nail clippers. 

Asked how he managed to notice certain physical features such as “deep set eyes and a prominent nose” when the aggressor was wearing a mask and the assault took place in the dark, an animated Zammit said that he was face to face with Ellul when he pressed a gun to his head and ran the beer bottle over his body.

The lights were turned on in the bedroom when this took place, he said. 

He also claimed to have a photographic memory, giving him the ability to recall events that happened many years ago.

Zammit admitted that he removed his contact lenses before going to sleep, but this did not mean that he was blind. 

Earlier today

The hold-up at former Labour MP Anthony Zammit’s Zebbug residence had been planned at least four months in advance, according to the testimony given today by Christopher Shepherd, who has been involved in a string of thefts in the past.

Shepherd approached Zammit in 2009, telling him the names of those who has carried out the crime. The witness said that he received a hug and a kiss from the victim for his troubles. He told Zammit that the robbers could have done “a lot worse” to him.

Shepherd told the court that the accused, Kenneth Ellul, who is his neighbour, had approached him with a potential job in April 2008.

“They had a job for me, but I refuted because my mother had just died and I was not in the right frame of mind,” Shepherd said.

The witness told the court that during their meeting, the accused and another man, Christian Ellul, showed him a gun and a number of outfits to be used during the theft of a “professor’s” Zebbug house. 

Witness - 'he is not the dangerous one'

Questioned by defence lawyer Josette Sultana, Shepherd admitted that his relationship with the accused was going through a rough patch at the time that he snitched on him.

Shepherd called it unfair that only one person has been accused of the crime when three people took part in the theft. He claimed that Ellul is too scared to say who his accomplices were. 

Pointing at Ellul, Shepherd angrily told the Judge “he is not the dangerous one, there were three of them."

In reply, the Judge told Shepherd to let the police do their job. 

Dr Sultana asked how Shepherd could be so sure that Ellul had committed the theft if he was not there to witness it on the night.

Shepherd replied that there had been a lot of rumours about the theft, and Ellul’s name had been bandied around. 

Bruising experience

Forensic pathologist Mario Scerri exhibited a number of photographs of the victim. Zammit suffered bruises to his face and legs. Dr Scerri noted that the bruising was consistent with blunt trauma “either from fists or a hard object.”

Mark Anthony Ellul, who was questioned by the police about the theft, told the court that the accused had confided in him and told him that he had managed to acquire a key to Zammit’s house. 

Lost lisp

Three speech therapists were next up on the witness stand, confirming that the accused does not have a lisp. 

On Monday, the court heard that the victim had picked up on a speech impediment that one of the robbers had, which sounded like the accused. 

Background

Former Labour MP Anthony Zammit is expected to testify today in the trial by jury against Kenneth Ellul, 39.

Ellul is accused of breaking into Zammit’s home and assaulting him.

During yesterday’s hearing, CCTV footage showed three men entering Zammit’s house through the front door during the early hours of the morning in August 2008. 

See also article: Aggressors had knowledgeof ‘labyrinth’ that isformer MP’s home – Expert