A 30-year-old Somali taxi driver has been granted bail after denying charges of seriously injuring another man in Gżira in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Abdullahi Ali Hassan appeared before Magistrate Ann Marie Thake on Monday charged with grievous bodily harm, threats, insults and being drunk in public.
The court heard that police were called to Triq Sir William Reid, Gżira, at around 1:30am on Sunday following reports of a person heavily intoxicated causing a disturbance. Officers found Adam Mohammed on the pavement.
The victim was rushed to Mater Dei Hospital and later admitted to the Intensive Therapy Unit.
Hassan arrived at the scene shortly afterwards and informed police that he had been involved in the incident. He was arrested at 3am and informed of the reasons for his arrest in Somali, English and Maltese. The court upheld the validity of the arrest.
The prosecution, led by lawyer Valentina Cassar and assisted by Inspector Ian Azzopardi objected to bail, describing the case as being at a premature stage while the victim remained hospitalised. It highlighted fears that the accused might abscond, noting that Hassan had resided at a different address from the one on his identity card.
Defence lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri argued that their client had a clean criminal record, had lived in Malta for 12 years since arriving at the age of 18, and had approached police voluntarily to report his connection to the incident. They stressed Hassan works as a cab driver and has strong ties to the country.
Magistrate Thake noted the prosecution's concerns but ruled that, at this early stage, the fears raised did not justify remand. She granted bail against a €2,000 personal guarantee and a third-party guarantee of €18,000.
Conditions include signing the court register daily between 8am and 8pm, a nightly curfew from 9pm to 8am, residence at the Gżira address provided to the court, deposit of his passport and identity card, no contact with prosecution witnesses, and no commission of further offences carrying a maximum sentence exceeding two years.
A protection order was also issued in favour of the victim.