Four family members acquitted over Birżebbuġa Labour club brawl

Four members of the same family have been acquitted of all charges stemming from a fight at the Labour Party club in Birżebbuġa, after a court found there was insufficient admissible evidence to establish what happened during the altercation.

Lawrence Cassar and his sons Kurt, Sean and Floyd Cassar were charged in connection with the fight, which broke out at the Labour club in Triq il-Bajja s-Sabiħa, Birżebbuġa on 19 March 2024.

They were accused of grievously injuring another man and causing three others to fear that violence would be used against them.

The four were also charged with assaulting, threatening and insulting the men and disturbing the public peace. Kurt Cassar was additionally charged as a recidivist.

The court heard that police received a report of a fight at the club that afternoon. When officers arrived at the scene, Sean and Floyd Cassar were seen with blood on their faces.

One of the victims later drove past the club and was stopped by police. While travelling towards the police station with an officer, the man began complaining of severe pain in his leg and an ambulance was called.

He was taken to Mater Dei Hospital, where he was certified as suffering from a fractured knee, among other injuries.

According to information gathered by police at the scene, the altercation appeared to have been preceded by an exchange of messages between the victim and Kurt Cassar.

The victim subsequently went to the club with members of his family, where members of the two families allegedly became involved in a physical confrontation.

However, the prosecution struggled to establish what happened during the fight.

The court noted that none of the police officers who testified had witnessed the altercation themselves. Instead, their evidence about the fight was based on what those present had told them immediately after the incident.

While the court said it had no reason to doubt that the police officer had faithfully reported what he had been told, it ruled that those accounts could not be relied upon to prove how the altercation unfolded.

The court held that, in the circumstances, this amounted to inadmissible hearsay evidence, particularly since it was the only account before the court of what had allegedly taken place during the fight.

Those directly involved in the incident who could have given first-hand evidence chose not to testify in order to avoid potentially incriminating themselves, as they were also facing criminal proceedings arising from the same incident.

The Cassars had also exercised their right to silence when questioned by police.

The court therefore found that while the prosecution had established that the victim suffered a fractured knee and that the parties had been present at the scene, it had failed to produce sufficient admissible evidence establishing who was responsible for the alleged offences.

The court concluded that the prosecution had failed to prove its case to the standard required by criminal law and acquitted Lawrence, Kurt, Sean and Floyd Cassar of all charges.

The judgment follows the acquittal earlier this year of Brian Mangion, Shylon Mangion and Wayne Barbara over the same altercation. The three had faced charges including grievously injuring Sean and Floyd Cassar but were acquitted after the court similarly found that the prosecution had failed to establish their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Cassar family was represented by lawyers Alfred Abela and Reneé Darmanin.

The court was presided over by Magistrate Leonard Caruana.