Abner Aquilina has been jailed for one year and fined €4,000 after being found guilty of attacking a psychiatrist at the Forensic Unit of Mount Carmel Hospital.

Meanwhile, in a separate judgment delivered on the same day Aquilina was acquitted of assaulting a fellow patient and contaminating his sugar with human excrement. The court found a major flaw in the prosecution's case.

Aquilina is awaiting trial by jury over the alleged rape and murder of Polish student Paulina Dembska in January 2022. He was recently declared fit to plead after being re-examined by three court-appointed psychiatrists, clearing the way for a normal jury trial to proceed.

Guilty of a surprise attack inside forensic ward

The first incident happened on 1 September 2022, when psychiatrist Joseph Spiteri entered the Forensic Unit on behalf of the Commissioner for Mental Health to assess a patient who was being held there.

After completing the assessment, Spiteri was leaving the ward under escort when Aquilina suddenly ran towards him, attacking him. The court heard that Spiteri was struck on the left side of his face, causing him to fall backwards onto a bench and sustain slight injuries. According to the evidence, Aquilina attempted to attack him again even after prison officers intervened and restrained him.

The prosecution relied on various testimonies, all of whom described Aquilina running towards the psychiatrist before launching the attack. Their evidence was reinforced by CCTV footage, which showed Spiteri stopping to speak with another person before Aquilina sprinted towards him, leapt into the air and struck him. Prison officers were then seen restraining Aquilina while others assisted the injured psychiatrist. Medical evidence presented in court confirmed that Spiteri suffered slight injuries following the assault.

Police officers testified that when they attempted to question Aquilina, he refused to cooperate, repeatedly insulted officers and exposed his genitals.

Defence argued lack of criminal intent

The defence accepted that the physical attack had occurred but argued that the prosecution had failed to prove the necessary mens rea. Lawyers contended that Aquilina's erratic behaviour during the police interrogation, including exposing himself and acting irrationally. demonstrated that he lacked the mental element required for criminal responsibility.

The prosecution rejected that argument, maintaining that the evidence showed a deliberate and targeted assault carried out against a public official performing his duties.

Magistrate Nadine Sant Lia dismissed the defence's submissions, finding that nothing in the evidence raised a reasonable doubt about Aquilina's intention. The fact that Aquilina attempted to attack the doctor again after being restrained further demonstrated that the assault was intentional rather than accidental or unconscious.

The magistrate also attached significant weight to the psychiatric certification declaring Aquilina fit for police questioning shortly after the incident, finding that this undermined the defence's argument that he lacked criminal responsibility.

The court held that Spiteri was unquestionably a person entrusted with a public service, having been officially appointed to carry out an independent psychiatric evaluation. The attack occurred immediately after he had completed that official function and while he was leaving the facility, creating a direct connection between the assault and the exercise of his public duties.

The court concluded that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Aquilina assaulted a public officer while the latter was carrying out official duties, caused him slight injuries and committed the offences as a recidivist.

After finding Aquilina guilty on all charges, the court sentenced him to one year imprisonment and fined him €4,000, payable within two years. A three-year protection order in favour of Spiteri was also issued and will take effect upon Aquilina's release from prison.

Acquitted of a similar assault on fellow patient

On the same day, Aquilina was acquitted of a similar assault on a fellow inmate at the Forensic Unit of Mount Carmel Hospital after a court ruled that the prosecution failed to prove the offence.

Aquilina had been charged with causing slight bodily harm to fellow inmate Charles Cutajar on 14 January 2023.

The court found that while the evidence consistently indicated that an altercation resulting in slight injuries had taken place, the prosecution's case was fundamentally undermined. The charge sheet alleged that the offence occurred on 14 January 2023, whereas all the evidence pointed to the assault having taken place on 15 January 2023. The court held that this discrepancy was fatal to the prosecution's case.

The prosecution's case centred on two incidents involving Aquilina and Cutajar. The court heard that Aquilina allegedly scooped faeces from a toilet using Cutajar's spoon before placing it in his sugar container. After another patient, Abdi Abdul Fatah, informed Cutajar what had happened, Cutajar reported the matter to officers before throwing the sugar container at Aquilina.

The following day, while inmates were drinking coffee in the dormitory, Aquilina allegedly approached Cutajar from behind and struck him in his right eye with a pen. Medical evidence confirmed that Cutajar sustained slight injuries.

Police Sergeant Saviour Mifsud testified that when officers later interviewed Aquilina at the Forensic Unit, he laughed, declined to answer questions and claimed he could not remember the incident. Inspector Jessica Grixti also told the court that inmates had reported Aquilina contaminated Cutajar's sugar with faeces before allegedly striking him in the eye while he was distracted.

Cutajar testified that after reporting the earlier incident, Aquilina attacked him the following afternoon with a broken pen. He said he was treated at hospital and still occasionally sees a black spot in his vision. He identified Aquilina in court as his attacker. Another fellow patient corroborated his account, telling the court he saw Aquilina approach Cutajar from behind before striking him in the right eye with a pen.

Court finds prosecution failed to prove the charge

After reviewing all the evidence, Magistrate Nadine Sant Lia observed that the faeces-in-the-sugar incident occurred on 14 January 2023 while the pen assault occurred on 15 January 2023, according to witnesses. The court noted that the prosecution had nevertheless drafted the charge alleging that the pen attack had occurred on 14 January 2023.

The magistrate held that this discrepancy could not be dismissed as a minor procedural error because Maltese criminal courts are bound by the particulars contained in the charge sheet. Referring to established criminal jurisprudence, the court explained that where the prosecution specifies a particular date and time, it must prove the offence within those exact parameters. If there is a substantial inconsistency between the charge and the evidence, the court cannot amend or substitute the charge to match the facts that emerge during the proceedings.

The court concluded that the prosecution had failed to prove the offence as charged because the charge sheet alleged the assault had taken place on 14 January but it actually occured on the 15 January. Aquilina was thus acquitted.

Inspector Clayton Camilleri prosecuted both cases. Both judgments were delivered by Magistrate Nadine Sant Lia.