Victim of Hamrun murder attempt gives harrowing account of 'scimitar' attack

A man who was nearly killed in a Hamrun garage complex by market hawker Justin Mula in June has described the extent which the horrific injuries that he suffered in the attack have affected his life.

The compilation of evidence against Mula continued this afternoon, with the victim of the attempted homicide, Jesmond Schembri, taking the witness stand.

“On 1 June I was taking my kids to school...I took the lift down to the garage. I didn’t see anyone but heard a lot of sound coming from Justin’s garage…” The two garages were far away from each other, he said.

“All of a sudden I see him running towards me with a big knife...I don’t know what it was. He said “Ħa noqtlok ħa mmur il-ħabs” (I'm going to kill you and go to prison) over and over. I retreated into my garage and he stabbed me there.” Schembri had picked up the closest thing to a solid object he could find -a suitcase- to defend himself with, he said. That suitcase was punctured over 20 times, the court was told.

Passersby helped open the garage gate and applied a belt as a tourniquet. “I ran into the street and started screaming for help. I thought I was going to bleed to death.” The accused had run in the opposite direction, Schembri added.

Asked by the prosecution, Schembri said his Mercedes and his Rolex watch had been damaged in the attack, as had the contents of the suitcase: “mobiles, wires and stuff” but the material losses were far from the victim's main concern.

“I am undergoing physiotherapy because I can’t use my hand well...I spent a long time in hospital...I couldn’t go to the toilet, I couldn’t eat unassisted for two whole months. I can’t work.”

The exact nature of the weapon used remains elusive – it had been variously described in court as a “scimitar,” a “pickaxe” and long knife.  “I have never seen a weapon like it in my life,” the victim said, when asked about it this morning, but a neighbour had told him that it was normally “used by butchers to cut bones.”

Photos of the injuries, taken by the victim's family members were exhibited in court.

Schembri cannot open or close his left hand or grasp an object, he said. When not constrained by bandages, his fingers would flex upwards uncontrollably. The range of motion of his right thumb was also limited. He could just about drive an automatic car he said.

The accused, who could be seen fidgeting with his legs and tapping his moustache as the pictures were exhibited, briefly smiled as Schembri described the disability he had suffered.

He said the accused had tried to climb his balcony and had told him that he wanted to get their children involved. From the testimony it was unclear whether this happened immediately prior or some time before the attack took place.

The victim's 18-year-old son also testified today. He said that he had heard shouting and saw a man running away from the garages. He ran to his dad's garage and found his father on the floor. "There was blood everywhere. He [Mula] was shouting I'm going to kill you.”

“His right arm was slashed from the wrist down. It was dangling, limp. His head was also bleeding.”

He held his father till the ambulance arrived.

He said that before the stabbing, he had been walking in the street, looking at his mobile phone when the man's son had punched him for no reason. He denied suggestions that he had been carrying a penknife, saying that in fact he had rushed outside wearing only his shorts. 

Cross-examined by the defence, he said he couldn't see the accused stab his father but heard him say he wanted to kill him to go to prison.

The defence exempted witnesses from testifying about statements they had given, saying that all police statements issued without a lawyer present are not admissible in the light of judgements by the European Court of Human Rights. Lawyer Franco Debono, who is appearing parte civile for the victim together with lawyer Marion Camilleri, added that disclosure to the accused of the evidence against him is often only made orally. “This is also in breach of European law.”

The case continues in October.