Swedish gaming director who threatened to ‘kill all negroes’ gets suspended sentence

A Swedish man who threatened to “kill” black people, and berated a neighbour for helping an African refuse collector in Pembroke, has been handed a six-month imprisonment term suspended for two years after being found guilty of inciting racial hatred. 

The incident took place on 13 June, in Triq Mons Alfred Mifsud Pembroke, when at about 8:00am, the accused, Nicklas Roland Sturk, was heard insulting an elderly neighbour, telling him that he “would kill all negroes.”

Sturk is a sales director at Tain AB, a Dutch gaming firm based in Malta.

The court also heard that upon hearing the accused shouting insults, his neighbours, Peter and Christine Grima, phoned the police. Testifying before the court, witness Christine Grima, told the court that she subsequently saw the accused assault and threaten an African refuse collector.

“I was helping the refuse collector carry a box to the street corner, when I heard the accused saying repeatedly ‘you f****** Maltese bitch helping negroes’,” she said.

When she went back to her house, Sturk ran up to her repeating the same words, and at a point came very close to Grima to the extent that she had to put out to palm of her hand to ward him off.

Subsequently, Grima explained, she saw the accused approach the refuse collector – Youre Ali – from behind, grab him from his shoulders and push him to the ground.

When the refuse collector left, the accused insulted Grima again, telling her: “you f****** stupid Maltese, you let immigrants run your country” and repeating that he “would kill every negro.”

On his part, the accused, did not deny the incident and that he had used the insults as indicated by the witness. In his defence, the man claimed that pushed Youre Ali because he thought he was one of the assailants that had stabbed him a few weeks before.

In its decree, the court ruled that the accused’s claims only sought to excuse his behaviour, and argued that it was satisfied of the witnesses’ event.

The court found the accused guilty of incitement to racial hatred and of breaching public peace, and sentenced him six months imprisonment suspended for two years.

Inspector Trevor Micallef prosecuted.