Two men from Paola were granted bail today, after they were charged with grievously injuring an elderly Dutch man.

Hossam Amgad Anwar Aly Elnily, 21, and Alessandro Tabone, 34, both residing in Paola, were accused of causing an elderly Dutch man grievous injury, and slightly injuring his wife at the Seabank Mellieha Hotel on Friday.

Testifying, the 66-year-old Dutch man told the court that he went to eat at a Brazillian restaurant with his wife, when a child who sat opposite the couple threw water onto a jacket belonging to his wife.

He said she changed seats and kept eating. The child, he said, then kicked the back of her seat, and she changed seat again.

He said that the mother said "you don't like my child." The court heard that Tabone who sat near the mother of the child, became angered and stood up.

He said that the man in question wanted to fight, but that he did not come to Malta to fight, adding that he was pushed several times. "he then threw a chair at me. The second man threw two tables." HE said that his wife was pushed onto the floor, hurting her leg. He said he remembers a red-haired woman trying to calm down the two men.

Cross examining the witness, lawyer Franco Debono who appeared for the accused, suggested that the witness had gestured the two men. The witness denied.

His wife also testified, in broken English, stating that the child's mother had confronted her. She also said that she was swotn at, and that the accused pushed her husband and kicked her.

The defence pleaded not guilty and bail was granted against a €1,000 personal guarantee.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia appeared on behalf of the defendants.