Man denies injuring robbery victim, claims bizarre bad luck

A man has denied accusations that he attempted to rob an elderly man, grievously injuring him, after having given him a lift home.

The 31-year-old Zebbug resident was arraigned today before magistrate Neville Camilleri to answer to charges that he had grievously injured the elderly man at a Marsa farm, attacked and threatened him, and stole an undisclosed amount of money from him on 20 November.

The accused explained that he had been drinking in a bar in Marsa when the alleged victim had asked him for a lift.

He had told police that he had obliged and dropped the man off at the Marsa traffic lights. The accused's girlfriend had been driving. The old man, however reported him to the police, claiming the accused had burglarized his home. 

After his arrest, the accused had told police officers that after returning home he had taken some drugs and, whilst still under the effect of the illicit substances, had decided to check out a nearby field to “find something to take.”

There, he claimed to have been detained by two Syrian men, who, believing that he had been stealing from them, had proceeded to give the unfortunate man the beating of a lifetime. The gang had decided to release him after finding pictures of the accused's young son on his mobile phone, but had held on to the device. He was warned never to try and enter the Syrians’ property again as the owner “was prepared to kill him.”

Evidently having undergone a change of heart, the Syrians had then used the phone to contact the man's mother and later, his girlfriend, to arrange the handing over of the device. The accused had gone to pick it up, accompanied by his girlfriend. The Syrian had apologised for what happened and returned the man's mobile phone to its owner.

The man's girlfriend had transported him to the Paola polyclinic where, he said, he had been prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs for his injuries. After being discharged from the policlinic, he had voluntarily checked himself in to Mount Carmel hospital.

The accused, who has a drug problem, was also charged with trespassing.

Lawyers Veronique Dalli and Dean Hili, appearing for the accused, told the court that he would be pleading not guilty to the charges.

Bail was not requested. The court recommended that the accused be held at the Forensic Unit of Mount Carmel Hospital so as to receive treatment for drug addiction.