Fisheries worker cleared of assault after jetty clash with superior

A 45-year-old Fisheries skipper accused of headbutting his superior during a workplace argument at the Marsa Fisheries jetty has been cleared of all charges, after a court found there was no medical evidence of any injury and testimony failed to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

The Magistrates’ Court, presided over by Magistrate Astrid May Grima, found Leonard D’Emanuele not guilty of threatening and assaulting Fisheries Protection Officer Christopher Camilleri during a heated exchange on 5 April 2024.

The dispute began over something seemingly minor, the way a fire extinguisher had been placed.

Camilleri told the court that D’Emanuele stormed into the office insisting that the extinguishers were stored dangerously. Camilleri said he tried to walk away to avoid escalating the argument,  but D’Emanuele followed him out to the jetty, shouting and threatening to throw him into the sea because he was fed up.

According to Camilleri, that’s when D’Emanuele allegedly gave him a headbutt to the forehead, leaving him stunned and in pain. He later reported the case to the Ħamrun police and went for medical tests.

But doctors found no visible injuries.

Kristina Marie Pulis, a doctor who examined Camilleri at Mater Dei Hospital, told the court she ordered a brain scan to exclude internal bleeding, but found no bruising, no redness, no scratches and no external injury at all. This became central to the case.

From the witness stand, D’Emanuele denied attacking Camilleri, saying the confrontation escalated quickly on both sides. He described Camilleri standing up abruptly, kicking his chair back and walking out. D’Emanuele said he followed to ask what was wrong:

He admitted that he was emotional and waving his hands while arguing, but insisted he did not intentionally strike Camilleri.

Their co-ordinator, Benjamin Borg, backed part of D’Emanuele’s account. Borg testified that Camilleri was already angry before the confrontation outside, and that while the men approached each other on the jetty, he did not see any blow. Notably, Borg also said that when Camilleri later informed him he was “going to the hospital to report it,” he did not mention being hit.

While the court acknowledged that a medical certificate is not strictly necessary to prove a light injury, the magistrate emphasised that in this case the evidence simply did not support the allegation. There was no CCTV footage shown in court confirming an assault, no third-party witness to a headbutt, and the only medical certificate presented stated there were no injuries.

The court ruled that the charges, including threatening and assaulting a public officer, were not proven to the level required by law.

D’Emanuele was acquitted on all counts. No protection order or other measures were imposed.