Two brothers accused of murder and now facing fresh charges over an early morning fight have had their bail confirmed on appeal.
Siraj S.B. Shalgum,39 and Husam Saleh Belgasem Shalgum, 34, landed in fresh trouble earlier this month following a violent incident outside a San Gwann bar at around 3.00am.
The brothers pleaded not guilty to grievously injuring the alleged victim, damaging his mobile, breaching previous bail conditions as well as disturbing the peace.
Both men were granted bail when they were arraigned, after the prosecution also informed the court that the fight victim had apparently expressed his will to forgive them.
After dropping her off, the driver had then garaged his damaged car and headed to bed.
A truck driver, passing along that stretch of road shortly after the incident, had swerved to avoid running over the lifeless body of the cyclist whom he first mistook for some dumped waste.
But when his truck hit the victim’s bike, dragging it along for several metres, he suddenly realised what had happened and stopped.
Crime experts later reported that the victim’s body had been discovered by the roadside, along with debris from the crash, including part of the bumper, complete with registration plate, of the runaway vehicle.
An appeals court on Friday confirmed suspended prison sentences for two construction company directors over the death of a French teenager crushed by the collapse of a poorly built brick wall.
James Mifsud and Gordon Farrugia, directors of Buz-Dov Developments Ltd, were each handed a two-year jail term suspended for four years in 2019 over the involuntary homicide of 19-year old Quentin Michel on August 1, 2011.
The youth was pretending to scale a poolside wall, taking “funny photos” with a group of friends whilst staying at a Swieqi holiday home, when the structure gave way, toppling onto the victim, who ended up unconscious under the debris.
A second attempt by the police to secure a conviction for a man caught with nearly 60 ecstasy pills outside a party venue in 2013 has hit a brick wall after a magistrate ruled that he could not be charged twice for the same offence.
The saga over the drug find began in 2013 when Andre Falzon, then a 22-year-old, was found in possession of 57 ecstasy pills during a party in Corradino. He was arraigned in September 2013 and following advice from his legal aid lawyer, admitted all charges.
He was sentenced to three years in jail plus a €1,000 fine.
A week into his prison term, his father sought the help of a new team of lawyers who spotted a mistake in the charge sheet. They went on to file an appeal arguing that he was charged with committing a crime on the night between August and 8 and 9, 2013, a month before the party was held.
An appeals court has slashed expert fees of almost €20,000 imposed in March on a man who was found guilty of a fatal stabbing in Birkirkara in a case of excessive self-defence.
Etienne Bartolo had been convicted of fatally stabbing Roderick Grech in Birkirkara four years ago. He was declared to have acted in excess of legitimate self-defence when he stabbed the victim with his penknife after being punched by the other man. Bartolo was handed a five-year jail term, a fine of €116.47 and was ordered to foot the bill of €19,885.16 in court expert expenses.
Etienne Bartolo.
The bill for court expenses was reduced to almost one-third after lawyers argued on appeal that it did not reflect the fact that the accused had been found guilty of excusable homicide.