Four bouncers who worked at Havana Club in Paceville have been cleared of charges of causing grievous injuries on another man.

In 2008, Brian Bellotti, Renard Tabone, Graeme McKay and Marflene Cricchiola, aged between 29 and 37, were charged with causing grievous on another man, Jeffrey Chetcuti, a former football player for Sliema.

In court, Jeffrey Chetcuti said that on 5 June 2008 at around three in the morning he was leaving Havana Club with another woman, when a group of Italian youngsters started harassing her.

An argument erupted, and the bouncers intervened to calm down the situation, guiding the people involved out of the club.

Mr Chetcuti claimed that one of the bouncers threw him down the stairs, before the others started kicking him, adding that he suffered grievous injuries as a consequence.

However, the doctor who examined him told the court that his injuries were only minor and compatible with a fall. 

Medical certificates presented in court stated that another doctor had certified the injuries as grievous because they placed a permanent consequence to Mr Chetcuti's nasal septum. A dentist said the man also had two broken teeth, which could be fixed through filling.

In court, one of the bouncers denied the assault and claimed that as he was guiding the Mr Chetcuti down the stairs he slipped and held on to the wall to avoid falling alongside the other. The other bouncers denied having kicked him.

The court considered that other witnesses had testified that they never saw Mr Chetcuti being thrown the stairs or kicked and that the injuries suffered were compatible with a fall, not assault.

Another witness, an acquaintance of both the bouncers and Mr Chetcuti, claimed that Mr Chetcuti was after financial compensation.

Magistrate Carol Peralta ruled that the case was merely an accident and cleared all men of charges.

Police inspector Edel Mary Camilleri led the prosecution. Lawyer Joseph Giglio represented the accused.