Mark Xuereb drops charges against DaVinci Hospital owner over alleged insults

A 65-year-old doctor has been cleared of insulting a colleague after the alleged victim retracted his accusations in court

Peter Vassallo, owner of DaVinci Hospital, was charged with sending insulting text messages to psychiatrist Mark Xuereb in a dispute over a consultation room at the private clinic.

The psychiatrist had not used the room for more than seven months and had failed to vacate it despite repeated requests from Vassallo, who also informed him that no further patient bookings would be accepted. Xuereb had not been paying for the use of the space.

The alleged victim did not appear in court. 

Xuereb reported he had been receiving text messages and calls from Vassallo circulating around the fact that he should remove his belongings, or else Vassallo will do it himself.

“I did not mean to say fuck you, I said what the fuck,” Vassalo said.

Phone messages sent by the accused to Xuereb showed him warning whether he wants to see another article about him on newspapers. Mark Xuereb is currently facing accusations including forgery, false declarations and breaching bail conditions.

Vassallo maintained Xuereb was bombarding him with text messages, and once the accused blocked the victim, the victim himself proceeded to message Kathleen Vassallo, the accused’s wife. The practitioner remarked that this was an act of “provocation”.

Since the alleged victim retracted all accusations against Vassallo, the court noted there was no legal basis for a conviction. Through his lawyers, Xuereb stated that he “forgave” the accused, while the defence counter-acted stating there was “nothing to forgive”.

Lawyer Matthew Xuereb represented the psychiatrist.

Lawyer Stefano Filletti appeared for the defendant.

Magistrate Kevan Azzopardi presided over the sitting.