Kiosk owner, assailant injured in foiled hold-up

The owner of Diana Kiosk at the Valletta bus terminus was injured in a minor scuffle when his assailant attacked him with a knife after his demand for cash and cigarettes were turned down.

Police are investigating a stabbing incident where the Valletta kiosk owner, 57 of Attard, was assaulted by a foreign national, who is resident in Malta.

The kiosk owner was reportedly on his way to open his kiosk at about 7:15am in Freedom Square, Valletta. Police said the assailant - who is a regular at the kiosk - first asked the owner for money, and then cigarettes, and when he was told off he grabbed hold of a chair and proceeded to smash the kiosk's windows. At one point he picked up a knife, injuring the kiosk owner with some scratches on his abdomen.

Police said that the assailant - an Egyptian national who lives in Valletta - was also injured in the scuffle when the kiosk owner resisted the assault. The police found the man laying on the ground in Freedom Square.

Both men were taken to hospital, but their condition is said not to be life threatening.

An inquiry is underway.