Two charged with New Year's Day mugging of elderly man in Marsa

Two men have been remanded in custody after they were charged with mugging and slightly injuring an elderly man who went out for some exercise early on 1 January.

Elton Brincat, 42 from Marsa and Brendan Cachia, 33 of Vittoriosa were accused of the theft, aggravated by violence, of a mobile phone from a 67-year-old man in Triq is-Salib tal- Marsa at 5:15am on New Year’s Day. Brincat alone was also accused of slightly injuring the man, holding him against his will, breaching bail and recidivism. Cachia was also charged with dangerous driving, driving without insurance cover and recidivism.

Both men pleaded not guilty to the charges. Cachia’s lawyer, Martin Fenech, asked for bail for his client, arguing that the charges were, in essence, simply theft. But inspector Lydon Zammit, prosecuting together with inspectors Stephen Gulia and Roderick Attard, rebutted the argument. “We’re talking about the violent mugging of an elderly man,” he said, pointing out that both accused had long criminal records and that there were civilian witnesses, not least the victim, who was yet to testify.

Brincat, represented by lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Rene Darmanin, did not request bail at this stage.

Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo, presiding the sitting, denied bail and ordered the men to be remanded in custody.