Festa head butting incident lands man in court

A 38-year-old man was charged with causing grievous injuries to another man after head butting him outside a bar in Valletta last week.

Joseph Gauci pleaded not guilty to the charges, which also included being a repeat offender, when he appeared before the court on Saturday. He was denied bail and remanded in custody.

The incident happened during the feast of St Paul, celebrated in the capital.

The prosecution told the court that the victim filed a police report last Wednesday stating he had been injured the evening before in Triq Santa Luċija, Valletta, when he was headbutted in the face.

“After analysing security camera footage of the alleged incident, there was a commotion outside a bar and the accused was seen mounting five steps and headbutting the victim,” the prosecution said.

The court heard that when questioned by police, Gauci admitted to the attack and asked to apologise to the victim.

Defence lawyers argued that their client had cooperated fully with the investigation and had presented himself at the police station voluntarily. They requested bail on the grounds that Gauci has a minor child and is due to get married soon.

However, the prosecution objected to bail, citing concerns over potential interference with evidence. The court was told that the victim alleged the attack was politically motivated.

The prosecution added that there were civilian witnesses known to the accused who have yet to testify and may be influential. It also claimed that Gauci had attempted to contact the victim, whilst his family had tried to reach out to popular or influential people. No names were mentioned in court.

The prosecution further noted that the accused does not have a clean criminal record.

The magistrate denied the bail request.