The man who accompanied former police inspector Jeffrey Cilia on the night when three brothers were allegedly assaulted, today told the court that it was the siblings who started the aggression, and not the other way round.

Jeffrey Cilia and Joseph Christopher Farrugia stand accused of injuring Matthew, Omar and Alik Debono in Paceville on the night between 21 and 22 December 2011. The former inspector also stands charged with using obscene language in public while drunk and committing a crime which he was duty bound to prevent. 

Taking the stand, Joseph Christopher Farrugia explained that on the night in question, he had joined Mr Cilia for a dinner at Zebbug and later to several bars in Paceville. He admitted to having consumed alcoholic drinks, however stressed that they were not drunk.

Mr Farrugia said that on the way home, they passed three young men who were vandalizing plants in front of Intercontintal Hotel and when Mr Cilia asked them to stop, the three man assaulted him.

"I intervened to pull them off Mr Cilia, there was some form of commotion, yes...but I do not remember punching or kicking any of the young man. At one point I noticed that one of the brothers was filming the aggression with his mobile phone, and I proceeded to take it from him. I later gave that mobile phone to the officers that later arrived on scene," he said.

In a contradicting testimony, the three men had told the court that Mr Cilia had approached them in Paceville after one of them had spat on the street. Allegedly, the inspector asked why he did it and then swung him a strong punch and threw him to the floor.

They said that when the two others intervened to protect their brother, Mr Farrugia and Mr Cilia started kicking and punching them.

The brothers claimed that the former inspector failed to hand the mobile phone to the police officers who later arrived on scene.

Mr Cilia is suspended from the police force until the case is pending. In total, he is facing 19 charges, including threatening former police commissioner John Rizzo.

Inspector Stephen Gatt led the prosecution.