A man has been accused in court of commissioning two 'hitmen' to attack the 62-year-old father of his ex-wife as he went for a jog along the Sliema seafront.
Police described Matthew Joseph Schembri, 37, from Sliema, as "the brains behind" the unprovoked assault of Louis Spiteri on Thursday morning.
Schembri and the two alleged attackers, Albanian nationals Xhovano Ndoci, 23, unemployed, and Agostin Marku, 23, who live together in a Sliema apartment owned by Schembri, were charged in connection with the assault.
They denied the charges when they appeared in court before magistrate Charmaine Galea on Friday afternoon and were remanded in custody.
Spiteri previously described how the two Albanian men were sitting on a bench when they got up and punched him in the face as he ran past George Bonello Dupuis Garden. He had to be treated in hospital for his injuries.
Victim Louis Spiteri had to be treated in hospital after the attack. Photo: Facebook
When they were arrested - after one was chased down by a fellow jogger and pinned to the ground - they told police that they were commissioned to carry out the attack.
All three of the men pleaded not guilty to charges relating to complicity in attempted grievous bodily harm, attempted grievous bodily harm and actual slight bodily harm. Ndoci was additionally charged with carrying a sharp and pointed object in public without a police permit.
'Kept as slaves'
The court heard that the two men lived in a property provided to them by Schembri, a director of a company, and were in Malta on limited funds.
Their lawyer, Dean Hili, told the court that police investigations corroborated elements of what they said, that they "acted essentially as hit men".
He claimed that the pair had come to Malta to work and found someone who would employ them illegally and withhold payment.
"They ended up essentially as his (Schembri's) slaves in hopes they would find their next meal, which they ended up having to find elsewhere. We have to see who truly had to gain from this situation, whether it was these two men who attacked someone they didn't even know - they had a picture of him - or someone else."
However lawyer David Gatt, for Schembri, claimed his tenants had never paid him "a cent in rent" for the place and so decided, on their own volition to attack the father-in-law as a means of payment.
He confirmed the victim, who also goes by Rosario Spiteri, was the father of his ex-wife, with whom Schembri has been separated from for several years.
"He (Schembri) had a person not paying rent and decided that instead of rent he would go and attack his ex-wife’s father. I don't think there should be the destruction of this man’s life because of the circ*mstances."
Appealing for bail, Schembri's lawyer said he had a clean criminal record, and a business, started by his father, with several commitments.
Inspector Lydon Zammit described the case as "very serious" and that the news of the attack had raised panic across the country, provoking fear that anyone walking in Sliema could be attacked.
"Unfortunately that word spread but its not the case, but the fear there was until police could give their version of events," he said, objecting to bail for all three accused.
"The second point is that an elderly man was attacked while exercising, minding his own business," adding that, while the injuries were only light, the situation could have been much worse.
"From our investigation it's clear that Matthew Schembri was the brains behind this attack by these two Albanians on Louis Spiteri. We will show the malicious thought shown by Matthew throughout this case."
Zammit said police had a number of civilian witnesses, who still need to testify, along with the victim and his family, indicating there was a risk of Schembri tampering with the witnesses.
He said the two alleged aggressors had no fixed address and "no intention of staying," indicating a flight risk.
The court denied bail for all three, due to the serious nature of the crimes, the fear of tampering with witnesses yet to testify and the fact that two of the accused have no fixed address or ties to Malta.
It also issued a protection order in favour of the victim, who was represented in court by lawyer Matthew Xuereb.
However, it ruled that Schembri could communicate with his ex-wife on matters relating to the custody of their son.
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