Man remanded in custody pending judgment after admitting to Marsa assault

A man from Somalia has been remanded in custody pending sentencing, after he admitted to punching a man in the face during an alcohol-fuelled altercation on Sunday.

Abdirahman Hassan Sakariye, 27, was arraigned before magistrate Joe Mifsud by police inspector Elisia Scicluna on Tuesday, accused of causing grievous injury to the victim. Sakariye was also charged with breaching the peace, being drunk and incapable of taking care of himself in a public place and recidivism.

The court was told that the assault took place in a public garden in Marsa at around 2:30pm on Sunday.

Although Sakariye did not deny the charges, pleading guilty at the first opportunity, the magistrate adjourned the case to November to allow the victim to testify, before deciding on a sentence. Sakariye was remanded in custody, after his request for bail was turned down by the court. Lawyer Victor Bugeja was defence counsel.

Sakariye is the second person to be arraigned in connection with an assault today. In the other case a Maltese man admitted to having used a knife to injure a love rival was released on bail pending sentencing, after also pleading guilty.