Saviour Caruana has been sentenced to seven years in prison following a violent 2019 outburst at a restaurant in Mġarr that left another diner permanently blind in one eye.

In addition to the prison term, Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech ordered Caruana to pay €10,000 in compensation-the maximum allowed by law-noting that while no sum could restore the victim's sight, the payment must reflect the gravity of the harm.

The incident occurred on March 24, 2019, during what began as a routine Sunday lunch. The victim was dining with his family when tensions rose due to the loud and coarse behaviour of Caruana's group at a nearby table. Despite some early moments of levity-including Caruana's table jokingly singing "Happy Birthday" to the victim's family-the atmosphere quickly soured. Seeking to avoid conflict, the victim's family decided to pack their food as takeaway and leave. As the victim walked toward the bar to pay, Caruana approached him and, without provocation, delivered a forceful punch to his eye.

The court relied heavily on CCTV footage, which contradicted Caruana's claims of a separate outside confrontation. The video showed Caruana moving "with purpose" and visibly angry, while the victim remained passive and non-confrontational. Frame-by-frame analysis clearly captured the punching motion at the exact moment the injury occurred.

The victim's family described a terrifying scene following the blow. With blood streaming from the victim's eye, they locked themselves in a bathroom while Caruana and others reportedly shouted and banged on the door outside. They eventually required a police escort to exit the building.

A consultant ophthalmic surgeon testified that the injury was so severe that surgery was only performed to preserve the physical shape of the eye; there was never any hope of restoring vision. The court classified the damage as permanent, both functionally and cosmetically.

The Magistrate praised the victim for his "exemplary self-control" and dignity throughout the ordeal. Conversely, Caruana's testimony was dismissed as inconsistent and contradicted by the video evidence. Highlighting Caruana's prior legal history and the senseless nature of the attack, the court emphasized that such life-altering violence demands a significant custodial sentence.