Tourist conditionally discharged after punching man who verbally, physically assaulted his girlfriend

A tourist was handed a conditional discharge on Monday after he admitted to having slightly injured a Pakistani man who had been harassing his girlfriend, by punching him in the mouth.

Andrew Brian Duffy, 34, from the UK entered a guilty plea when was arraigned before magistrate Jean Paul Grech on Monday, accused of causing slight bodily harm. Duffy’s defence counsel, lawyer Stefano Filletti was permitted to approach the bench together with the prosecuting official, police inspector Brian Xuereb, to discuss the case privately with the magistrate.

The defendant pleaded guilty to the charges, confirming his admission when given the opportunity to recant by the court.

Making submissions about the punishment to be handed down, inspector Xuereb told the court that it was a one-off incident and that Duffy had not followed up his initial punch. “We have no intention of being severe about the incident, especially in view of the fact that he was provoked.” said the inspector.

Filletti asked the court to understand the circumstances in which the assault had happened. “He was out with his girlfriend at a pub in Paceville. At one point an individual started harassing his girlfriend and so the defendant approached and asked him to leave.” The victim had persisted, however, and had carried on touching the woman, whilst describing to the man what he “would do to her,” Filletti said.

He underlined to the court that the man’s actions had been intended to ward off the persistent and unwelcome advances, requesting a conditional or unconditional discharge in the circumstances, “in the light of the one-off nature of the incident and the severe provocation that had led to it.”

The court upheld the defence’s submissions and, while making it clear that violence was not the correct path for the man to have taken, it also had to take the persistent sexual harassment of the defendant’s partner, in his presence and the isolated nature of the incident into consideration.

Duffy was conditionally discharged for two years and bound by court order not to approach or contact the other man for one year, against a €500 penalty.