Elderly man jailed for stabbing youth in Paceville brawl

A 69-year-old Maltese man from Birkirkara has been jailed for a year for stabbing another man no less than four times during a Paceville brawl, causing him serious injuries.

The incident took place on 26 February 2006 at around 4.45am. The accused, Grezzju Gauci, injured 22-year-old Gilbert Spiteri, who had been trying to help his friend.

Mr Gauci was charged with attempted homicide, causing grievous injury, theft while carrying a pointed weapon, possession of a knife and relapsing. The Attorney General, following the compilation of evidence, felt the accused must principally answer for causing grievous injury rather than attempted homicide.

It was established that a man named Edmond Zerafa had decided to leave a club in Paceville slightly earlier than his friends because he was heavily inebriated. Mr Zerafa walked towards Pender Gardens and wound up resting on one of the numerous bus stops found on the street. This was when, for unknown reasons, a fight broke out between Mr Zerafa and a number of taxi and bus drivers.

At the same time, Mr Spiteri and his girlfriend arrived at the scene. Upon seeing his friend being beaten, Mr Spiteri tried to intervene. The victim is said to have pushed the accused to the ground, and turned to help his friend. This is when the accused turned to Mr Spiteri and began stabbing him with a pointed weapon.

A doctor certified Mr Spiteri as having suffered grievous injuries. One of the stab wounds, to the chest, had cut through the many layers of skin and resulted in the victim’s muscle popping out. The victim also complained of “mild sensory impairment” to the right hand, leading to the charge of causing grievous injury.

Magistrate Ian Farrugia, presiding over the case, found the accused guilty of all charges and sentenced Mr Gauci to one year in prison. The court also chastised the accused for carrying out such crimes at the age of 59 against a 22-year-old youth, telling him that he should have known better.

Inspector Chris Pullicino prosecuted.