Marsaskala teen charged with stabbing friend in the face

The lawyer for a Marsaskala teenager, charged with injuring a friend of his in the face, ears and hands with a knife, has told a court that his client was acting in self-defence.

Lawyer Franco Debono was making submissions on bail on behalf of the accused, Maverick Mifsud, who was arraigned before Magistrate Aaron Bugeja this afternoon and accused of stabbing Gerson Portelli in Marsaskala yesterday.

Mifsud is also charged with carrying a knife without a licence and with being in possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime. Additional charges of cannabis possession were also made.

Prosecuting inspector Josric Mifsud informed the court that the accused and the victim lived in the same town and had been good friends, always in each other’s company, before the incident.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Debono told the court that in later sittings it would be proven that Portelli had instigated the attack, by mocking Mifsud about a personal matter. He requested bail, pointing out that before this incident, Mifsud had enjoyed a spotless police conduct.

“Why keep him under arrest for one to two weeks if he is presumed innocent? If the court imposes a condition that he avoid all contact with the other party, he will obey it,” said the lawyer.

The magistrate was told that the accused lives with his parents and was looking for work. He called in the accused’s father, who had been waiting outside the courtroom and asked him if he was prepared to guarantee his son’s obedience to any bail decree. “I am trusting him. I know he is trustworthy,” said the man.

The court granted Mifsud bail against a personal guarantee of €1,000 and a deposit of €3,000, ordering him to sign a bail book every week, observe a curfew and prohibiting him from speaking to or otherwise contacting Portelli or his relatives.

Mifsud was sternly warned that any breaches of these conditions would not only mean his rearrest and the forfeiture of the guarantee, but would also put his father at risk of imprisonment.

Lawyers Marion Camilleri and Amadeus Cachia also assisted the young man. Inspector Charlotte Curmi also prosecuted.