Two arraigned over bar fight

Two men involved in a bar fight last May were arraigned in court after an inspector decided to take action on a case left pending for over three months.

The incident happened on 4 May at the Black and White Bar in Bugibba when Bulgarian national Mariyan Enchev helped himself to a soft drink bottle from behind the bar and started pouring it in his own glass. Seeing this the Manager asked the security guard to escort the Bulgarian off the premises. While the two were walking towards the door they started arguing and fighting.

Both the security guard Clevon Micallef, 32 of St Paul's Bay, and the Bulgarian suffered grievous injuries.

Appearing for Enchev, defence lawyer  Charmaine Cherret said the Bulgarian admitted to the charges and would be leaving Malta next week. However she commented that her client had immediately filed a police report over the incident, which report was ignored by the authorities for over three months.

Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi, appearing for Micallef, argued his client was not guilty of injuring Enchev. The Security guard was walking the Bulgarian national to the door when he pushed him onto a table and injured his hand.

Magistrate Ian Farrugia demanded why so much time had elapsed from the date of the incident. Inspector Joseph Busuttil replied he had not investigated the case but it was passed on to him and he took the necessary action.

Mariyan Enchev was handed a suspended jail term for a year while Clevon Micallef was granted bail against a personal guarantee of €10,000.