A court has declared that there is sufficient evidence to justify indicting Sudanese national Al Mahy Ezzo Saeed of Gzira, over the murder of Egyptian national Adri Mohammed in July in Marsa.

Saeed pleaded not guilty to the charges upon his arraignment and also denied amended charges Tuesday morning.

When the compilation of evidence continued before Magistrate Doreen Clarke Tuesday morning, Inspector Sean Pawney took the stand to give his account of the investigation into the murder.

He said that the police had received a report about an unresponsive male stabbing victim outside a bar in Marsa. The victim had been taken to hospital, but had later succumbed to his wounds, he said.

Inspector Pawney had gone to the scene of the crime, near Triq Dicembru 13 and observed blood on the ground. Bystanders who had witnessed the stabbing were spoken to by the police and a suspect who had been detained by onlookers was taken into custody. He was identified as Al Mahy Ezzo Saeed and was taken to hospital for treatment.

It emerged that the fatal altercation had started as an argument that had broken out between the men, he said. The eyewitnesses told the police that at one point the accused had pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim. One eyewitness said that he had heard the victim cry out "my heart, my heart!"

Another witness had told the police that he had gone to buy something from a nearby shop and had witnessed the murder. He had tried to intervene, but was unsuccessful, recalled the inspector.

A 13-minute video clip of the immediate aftermath of the stabbing had been uploaded to social media, and had led to the identification of the accused by the police. Officers eventually tracked Saeed down and found him to be carrying a knife in a pouch on his belt. The knife was seized by the police for forensic testing.

Saeed had replied in the affirmative when asked by the police whether the knife was the same one he had used to stab the victim, said the inspector, adding that Saeed had confirmed that the victim never attacked him with a knife.

Before adjourning the case to September, the court decreed that it had seen enough prima facie evidence to justify indictment.

Inspector Shawn Pawney prosecuted, assisted by lawyers Ramon Bonett Sladden and Anthony Vella from the Office of the Attorney General.

Lawyer Jason Grima is defence counsel.