Man charged with stabbing owner of van he was discovered stealing from

An alleged would-be thief nearly lost his ear in a fight that broke out after he was confronted by the owner of a van that he had been rummaging around in.

Furniture delivery man Stephen Cutajar 51, from Tarxien appeared before magistrate Leonard Caruana on Friday accused of grievously injuring the van’s owner with a sharp or pointed instrument and stealing his mobile phone.

Inspector Kevin Pulis told the court that the police had responded to a report by the victim at the Zejtun police station. He claimed to have been attacked by Cutajar near the airport in Luqa, after he had found the defendant inside his van and confronted him. A scuffle ensued in which both men suffered injuries. The mobile phone was later recovered.

The defendant had been slightly injured in the scuffle, said the inspector, while the victim had been certified as having suffered grievous injuries. The prosecution requested a protection order be issued.

The magistrate read out the charges. “Not true at all,” Cutajar interrupted when he reached the charge of theft.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Bail was requested. Lawyer Jacob Magri, defence counsel to Cutajar together with lawyer Arthur Azzopardi, pointed out that the other party was also going to be charged before a district court in connection with the incident but only with causing slight injuries. The lawyer highlighted the fact that Cutajar’s ear was clearly still bandaged. “It was almost sliced in two,” piped up the defendant, adding that he had refused stitches, however, because he “didn’t want them to leave a scar.” Cutajar also informed the court that he was not seeing clearly with his right eye.

Magri suggested that the man had suffered several injuries, some of them grievous as they caused disfigurement to the man’s appearance, and asked the court to appoint a medical expert to assess the nature of the injuries.

Inspector Pulis asked that the victim’s injuries also be assessed for the same reason.

The defence also requested the court grant bail, which was objected to by the prosecution on the grounds of the grievous nature of the incident and the risk of destruction of evidence. 

The court needed to be able to see the full picture, which depended on the testimony of the victim, who had indicated that he was willing to testify, the inspector said.

The risk of further violence was also very real, he said. “It was a fight between two individuals who know each other and the prosecution believes that money was involved,” explained the inspector, adding that there seemed to be an ongoing dispute between the men over €100.

Magri replied that there was only one civilian witness, who was the victim. Should the defendant’s injuries be found to be grievous in nature, then the victim will also be charged, he said. The versions of events as described by both parties had already been preserved, he added.

Cutajar claimed to have been working with his truck when he was ambushed by the other man. “It is a case of self-defence,” he said, comparing his arrest with the manner in which the other party was treated.

The inspector pointed out that the versions of events as described by the two men were contradictory and that although they lived in different towns, they had been working in the same area, one driving a truck and the other operating a lifter.

The court denied bail at this stage, urging the prosecution to bring the victim to testify at the next sitting.

A protection order was issued in favour of the parte civile.

The court, after Cutajar informed him that he owned a number of parrots and horses, also requested the Director of the Corradino Correctional Facility to make arrangements to allow the defendant to feed, clean and care for his animals.