Victim recalls Marsa garden knife attack: ‘I woke up to find this man with a knife in his hand’

The victim of a knife attack has told a court how, a week before the incident, he had been involved in a prolonged argument with the man accused of attacking him, over a rebuke for littering.

Magistrate Ian Farrugia continued to hear evidence in the compilation of evidence against Moubarak Altayeb, 46, from Sudan on Tuesday. 

Altayeb was charged with attempted murder in October last year, after allegedly stabbing a Nigerian man in a Marsa public garden.

“I was asleep and woke up to find this man with a knife in his hand. He thrust it towards me and I tried to block it,” he said, explaining that he had been taking a nap on a bench, out in the open, at around midday.

In blocking the knife, he suffered a wound to his hand and started bleeding, he said. “I ran towards the Marsa police station […] I noticed he had two knives. I saw the police officers outside the police station and signalled that I needed assistance. They told me to calm down and called an ambulance.”

Asked if there had been any words from the accused, he said “the guy came from behind a big tree to try and confuse me. He was holding a branch in his other hand.”

A week before the stabbing, the two had argued, on and off, for three days, over the accused’s littering habit, he said. On one occasion, the accused had thrown a number of stones at him near a school in Marsa, but he had dodged them, he said. On that occasion, a passer-by had told them that he would call the police.

The witness confirmed to the court that he had no doubt that Altayeb was the person who attacked him, “I’ve known him since 2014.”

He told the magistrate that he had spent three days in hospital and had lost sensation in his fingers on the affected arm. He confirmed that he had subsequently been discharged from hospital and was no longer receiving treatment.

The court appointed a forensic expert to examine the victim with a view to assessing any long-term health issues caused by the attack, after a request was made to this effect.

A decree of prima facie was given. The case continues in June.

Inspectors Lydon Zammit, Roderick Attard and Stephen Gulia prosecuted, assisted by AG lawyers Anthony Vella and Etienne Savona.

Lawyer Christopher Chircop was defence counsel.