Man on bail for attempted murder charged with attacking elderly woman during theft

A man on bail over an attempted murder has been charged after allegedly attacking an elderly woman who interrupted him while he was breaking into her car.

Inspector Gabriel Micallef charged Floriana resident Wadea al Magharbi, 31, from Libya before magistrate Nadine Lia this afternoon.

He told the court that the police had received a report concerning a woman being attacked by a man near the SPCA in Floriana yesterday. Officers had gone to the scene and found the woman, who told them that she had chanced upon a man breaking into her car and had subsequently been attacked by him. CCTV led to the accused being identified, he said.

Al Magharbi, 31, who told the court he was unemployed, pleaded not guilty.

Lawyer Shazoo Ghaznavi, appearing on behalf of the victim, asked for a ban on the publication of her name. The court upheld the request in the absence of any opposition from the parties.

Al Magharbi’s legal aid defence counsel, lawyer Mario Caruana, requested bail.

The prosecution opposed the request, citing the gravity of the offence, because the victim had been injured in the commission of the crime and because the incident was violent.

The accused had no fixed address and lived in shared accommodation in Floriana, Micallef explained to the court. Al Magharbi’s criminal record showed that he had just been released from prison and had already committed another offence, said the inspector, arguing that the accused was untrustworthy and pointing out that there were also civilian witnesses besides the victim who are yet to testify.

The court denied bail in view of the way the attack happened to the elderly victim, the lack of fixed address and the witnesses pending and his criminal record and the fact that the man had just been released from prison.

The court upheld the request for a protection order in favour of the victim pending the proceedings until the man is sentenced.

This was not Al Magharbi’s first brush with the law. He had been jailed for two years in 2019 after being convicted of handling stolen goods, passport offences and recidivism and is currently indicted for attempted murder.

Lawyers Shazoo Ghaznavi and Charlon Gouder appeared parte civile.

Police Inspectors Lydon Zammit, Stephen Guila and Gabriel Micallef prosecuted.