Jason Desira, 32, and Carmelo Desira, 65, both from Zejtun were found guilty of injuring Saviour Buhagiar in Marsascala at around 1pm on 25 September 1999.

Mr Buhagiar claimed he had gone into a block of flats still under construction because he was a builder. He said he urinated against a wall when the Desiras barged in on him and started punching him. He said Carmelo Desira hit him in the face with a piece of wood, fracturing his nose. Mr Buhagiar denied the allegations that he had been naked.

Nathalie Carter, Jason Desira’s wife, took the witness stand during the proceedings and said Mr Buhagiar had called to her from the flat across the street, taken off his clothes, sat on a cinder block and started touching his genitals. Ms Carter instantly phoned Mr Desira who went to the flat together with his son.

Mr Desira claimed he and his son had found Mr Buhagiar wearing just a top and touching his genitals. He said the man tried to get dressed when he saw them and admitted he did not let him leave the building until the police arrived.

In his testimony, Jason Desira admitted he had punched Mr Buhagiar after the victim allegedly started hurling stones at him.

The court noted the men were originally charged with slightly injuring Mr Buhagiar and the prosecution requested this to be changed to serious injury. Despite this, the court considered the injury Mr Buhagiar suffered to be of a slight nature and proceeded to order the men to pay a Lm40 fine each.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera presided over the court while inspector Marisa Camilleri prosecuted.