Three days after facing suspended sentence, man is acussed of threatening wife's lover again

A man who was handed a suspended sentence for stabbing his wife's lover, just three days ago, has appeared in court this morning accused of threatening to stab the lover again.

Mohamed Mokhatr Mohamed Jamhur, who resides in Valletta, was handed an 18-month sentence, suspended for three years, and a fine of €164 last Friday, after he admitted to slightly injuring another Libyan man, Nader Abdulaziz Elgerian, at around 4:15pm the day before. Jamhur had also pleaded guilty to attempted grievous bodily harm and admitted to carrying a knife in public without the necessary permissions.

The original argument is understood to have broken out after the accused caught his wife with the victim. Elgerian was stabbed once in the right shoulder and slightly injured. 

But Inspector Jeffrey Scicluna told the court that just hours after he received the less-than-severe sentence, Jamhur had allegedly found Abdulaziz near the Tritons fountain in Floriana and threatened him.

Crucially, the inspector confirmed that the same person who had filed the original report had made the second one. 

Jamhur denied the charges. Defence lawyer Martin Fenech said that it could just be a false report intended to have the man jailed. He requested bail.

The prosecution objected to the request for bail, however, pointing out that the complainant, who was the victim of the stabbing case decided on Friday, had said he felt threatened. Fenech had made reference to "other witnesses," who might have shed light on the matter but this was countered by Inspector Scicluna, who said that the man in question had been spoken to but was deemed not credible, having failed to even remember the date or time of the incident.

Magistrate Aaron Bugeja held that it would be premature to grant the accused bail at this stage in proceedings, in view of the fact that the witness had not yet testified and felt himself to be at risk.

The court said it would be denying bail at this stage, but instructed the prosecuting officer to summon Nazer Abdulaziz Elgerian to testify at the next sitting. “Now if it emerges that Abdulaziz is taking justice for a ride, he will pay the full price,” warned the court.