Court denies request for bail

Accused is one of eight others charged with women trafficking

A fight in Gżira on Sunday evening led to 20-year-old Denzil Farrugia from Marsa being arraigned in court and charged with attempted murder.

The argument broke out between a number of individuals.

Farrugia had been out on bail after previously being arraigned in court, together with eight other men, on allegations of trafficking Colombian women for prostitution and operating two brothels in Malta.

He was arrested after going to the Gżira police station to file a report. Police were already in possession of an arrest warrant after security camera footage from the area clearly showed the accused involved in the fight. In connection with the same case, police also arrested two other men.

The defence challenged the validity of the arrest, alleging that the arrest warrant did not indicate a charge of attempted homicide. It added that the police had no new developments to justify changing the charge when he was arraigned in court this morning. The prosecution explained that during the investigation they obtained new footage which led to Farrugia being charged with attempted murder.

Magistrate Antoine Agius Bonnici ruled that the arrest was valid. Farrugia pleaded not guilty to all charges brought against him.

Regarding bail, the prosecution argued that the charges are of a serious nature and that the accused had breached bail conditions from another case.

It added that there is a risk of tampering with evidence, since Farrugia was aware that individuals in balconies along the same street had recorded various videos, and stated that the footage shows the accused threatening them.

The Court denied the request for bail and issued a protection order in favour of the victim.

The prosecution is being led by Inspector Charlon Borg together with lawyers Clive Aquilina and Kaylie Bonett from the Office of the Attorney General. Farrugia is being represented by lawyer Charles Mercieca.