Bouncers, club manager charged with Paceville beating

Three men have appeared in court early this morning, charged in connection with a horrific beating in Paceville in the early hours of Wednesday 24 February.

Nightclub manager Godwin Micallef, 40, and two foreign bouncers - 28-year old Miroslav Sasic, from Croatia, and 24-year old Romanian Nicolae Dobra - were charged with injuring two Maltese youths in the assault.

20-year-old Nicholas Aquilina, from Marsa, suffered grievous injuries and Larkin Stafrace suffered slight injuries in the attack. 

Micallef, Sasic and Dobra were arraigned before Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech by Inspector Elton Taliana this morning. The men pleaded not guilty.

Defence lawyer Joe Giglio requested bail. He pointed out that the foreign nationals accused have no criminal record.“With regards to Micallef, we have a 40-year-old man whose conduct sheet is cleaner than most.”

The court released Micallef on bail against a deposit of €5,000 and a personal guarantee of €5,000, ordering him to sign a bail book three times a week and observe a curfew. Micallef put his head in his hands as his bail conditions were read out.

The court however denied bail to Savic and Dobra in view of the lack of adequate ties to the island and their “apparent lack of respect for the law, including employment laws.”