A 24-year-old man who six years ago caused a horrific injury during a Paceville fight has been spared jail by a court which opted for a suspended sentence.
The victim had suffered a broken cheekbone and a dislocated eyeball and underwent bone-reconstruction surgery.
The incident happened in the early hours of September 18, 2010, when the accused, Darryl Debono from Burmarrad, got embroiled in a fight following some disparaging remarks to a girl who was with him. The comments had not been made by the victim, but by some of his friends.
The court heard that when the initial argument was over, the victim who had not been involved at that stage had gone to verify the condition of his friend, who was lying on the ground. It was at this point that when the accused turned up and punched him violently in the face. On his part the victim got hold of an ashtray on a nearby table to protect himself from the blow.
In its decision the court rejected the arguments of the defence that Mr Debono had acted in self-defence, fearing that the victim would hit him with the ashtray. It noted that such claim had not been corroborated neither by the inconsistent testimony of the defence witnesses nor...
