Mellieha man guilty of grievously injuring neighbour

Pierre Buhagiar, 51 of Mellieha, was sentenced to 18 months in prison suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to grievously injuring his neighbour.

The neighbour, a Libyan national, was hit on the head with a baseball bat after an argument that broke out between their women. Isam Mohammed El Shahumi reportedly had an argument with Buhagiar’s wife after the latter complained of water falling down onto her washing line.

The court was told that the argument esclataed to the point that El Shahumi tried to push over the woman and challenged Buhagiar to a fight. Buhagiar hit him with a baseball bat. He also said that he had filed multiple police reports over inconveniences caused by the Libyan man, including leaving the garbage bag outside Buhagiar’s apartment and allowing his dog to relieve itself in the building’s common parts.

In delivering the sentence, the Magistrate argued that it found Buhagiar’s actions excusable because he had been putting up with El Shahumi for a number of years.