A lawyer yesterday told a court how he was beaten up by a man and his son in his office in Valletta which left him suffering from serious injuries, including a perforated ear drum.
Lawyer Tonio Azzopardi was testifying in the compilation of evidence against Philip Camilleri, 56, from St Paul’s Bay and his 26-year-old son, also called Philip, who lives in Marsa.
The father and son are pleading not guilty to beating up and injuring Dr Azzopardi and holding him against his will at his office in Valletta at around 5.30pm on 3 July.
Testifying before magistrate Lawrence Quintano, Dr Azzopardi explained that on the day in question he was inside his office with a few clients when someone knocked at the door and, when he opened, two men barged into the office and hit him repeatedly, mostly with blows to his head. He said that as soon as he opened the door, the youngest of the two started shouting and beat him until he fell to the ground. Even when he was grounded, the man continued to hit him and kick him especially in his head. The father also joined his son and repeatedly hit the lawyer who was on the ground. Dr Azzopardi said the incident must have lasted between six and eight minutes and he must have received around 40 blows in all, most of which directed at his head. He said he begged the men to stop hitting him and leave him alone. He said that while he was on the ground, he prayed to Our Lady for help and soon after, the father started telling his son to stop hitting the lawyer and to calm down. The lawyer said that when the beating stopped some time later, they told him that they wanted him to write them a cheque to the tune of Lm5,700. He said that while he was writing the cheque, Mr Camilleri (Jnr) stood on his desk with his hands on his hips while they both threatened to shoot and kill him if the cheque bounced. During their arraignment, the father and son had claimed that the incident arose over a Lm5,000 deposit that had been deposited in court in connection with another court case involving the wife and mother of the accused. They had claimed that Dr Azzopardi had represented the wife of Mr Camilleri (senior) as legal aid in a civil case that he won about six months ago. They had claimed that when they went to withdraw the deposit, they were informed that the money was at Dr Azzopardi and so they went to the lawyer’s office to demand the money.
The father and son claimed that Dr Azzopardi asked them to leave and teased them with a cheque for Lm1,000 which he wrote but refused to hand over to them.
However, testifying yesterday, Dr Azzopardi said that, contrary to what the two men had claimed, he had not taken any money in connection with their case. He also denied teasing them with a cheque.
When asked, Dr Azzopardi said he had suffered multiple injuries, including a perforated eardrum. He said that a few weeks before the incident, Mr Camilleri (Jnr) threatened him in court and he had called for police protection but police said they could not trace the man. Police Inspector Pierre Micallef Grimaud prosecuted. Dr Roberto Montalto appeared for the Camilleris while Dr Emmanuel Mallia appeared parte civile for Dr Azzopardi.