Man accused of 'indirectly' breaking opponent's leg in Gozo argument

An argument between two men in Gozo ended with one man accused of “indirectly” breaking the other man’s leg.

Benamar Nader Abulhashem, 41, from Libya was accused of grievously injuring Hanibal Bashir Mohamed when he drove his car at him.  However Mohamed broke his leg not as a result of an impact with the car, but from an attempt at climbing a wall to escape.

The men had been arguing in the street in Qbajjar, Gozo and had been separated by passers-by. But as he drove away, Abulhashem had allegedly tried to run his opponent over. The other man, seeing the accused’s vehicle barrelling towards his general direction, had tried to climb a wall to escape only to fall off it and break his leg.

The man was charged with causing grievous injuries, driving in a dangerous manner, carrying a knife in public without a licence, carrying a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, taking up arms against another person, breaching the peace, attacking the man and insulting or threatening him. He was further charged with being in possession of cannabis and with recidivism.

Presiding the Court of Magistrates in Gozo, Magistrate Joanne Vella Cuschieri heard lawyer Angie Muscat, who is assisting the accused together with lawyer Franco Debono, enter a plea of not guilty and request bail.

The accused had lived in Malta since 1994 and had family ties to the island, said the lawyer. The prosecution, led by Police Inspector Bernard Charles Spiteri objected to bail on a number of grounds, amongst them that there were witnesses who were yet to testify.

The court, however, released Abulhashem on bail, ordering him to sign a bail book three times weekly and to secure his release from arrest with a deposit of €1,000 and a personal guarantee of €5,000. A protection order, prohibiting him from speaking to the parte civile was also imposed.