Victim of bottle attack 'begged for his life'

The victim of an attack with a broken bottle has told a court how his attacker ignored his pleas for mercy during a savage beating in Paceville.

The testimony was heard in the compilation of evidence before Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit against Tatu Antero Oksanen, 33, a Finnish soldier in Malta on vacation, who stands accused of grievously injuring salesman Christopher Vassallo, from Zabbar.

Vassallo, who appeared in court still wearing a bandage on his face, gave his version of how the incident in question took place at 4:15AM in Paceville on Sunday the 4 January.

He testified that he was walking to his parked van at the time and saw a person try to open his van window and take something from it.

Vassallo told him to stop, but the person, who he recognised as the accused, said “this is not your van”, grabbed him from the shoulder and shoved him against the back door of the van.

The accused is then said to have smashed a full wine bottle against the van’s rear bumper and hit him with the broken bottle.

The victim, who had been returning from a night out, said he begged for mercy, saying in broken English “I have two children, I am gentleman.”

The Finn, who once served with the NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo, then allegedly slashed the side of his face with the broken bottle and then pushed him against the bumper with such force that he broke the numberplate on the van.

Vassallo escaped and walked, in considerable pain, towards central Paceville. He praised the police who gave him first aid, as he could barely stand and had lost a “a lot of blood,” exhibiting the clothes he claimed to have been wearing on the day, which were visibly caked in blood.

The victim denied attempting to defend himself. “Look at the size of him!” he said. Lawyer Michael Scriha, appearing in parte civile for the victim, also highlighted the difference in physical build between the two – with the wiry victim dwarfed by the tall, thick-set accused.

Making reference to the accused’s two black eyes, which had evidently not healed since the initial arraignment. Defence Lawyer Franco Debono asked the victim whether he had hit the accused, which he denied. Neither had he seen anyone hit him, he said. 

During his arraignment, the prosecution had explained that such was the drunken state of the accused, that he fell flat on his face

Debono requested bail, in the absence of which he asked the court to adjourn the case in order to hear the witnesses before the case is handed over to the AG, which, he said, would result in at least a further month in custody. 

The prosecution conceded that it had no more civilian witnesses, but expressed its concern that the accused might abscond, as he had intended to return to Finland before the incident.

Debono pointed out that the as long as sufficiently restrictive conditions were imposed, he would not be able to abscond. Two friends of the accused also offered to act as guarantors.

The defence lawyer also criticised the prosecution for only summoning one witness for the sitting. “Bail is also connected with the length of the proceedings, and we could have heard more than one witness,” he protested.

The magistrate announced that she would give a decree on bail from her chambers.