News | Sunday, 21 February 2010

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Steel bar, knuckle-dusters used in Paceville beating

Karl Stagno-Navarra
Police are reportedly probing the use of a steel bar and knuckle-dusters by Paceville nightclub security personnel to violently assault two Sicilian men last week.
35-year-old Riccardo Miano and 27-year-old Luca Di Mauro, both of Catania, are still receiving treatment at Mater Dei Hospital for the serious injuries they sustained at the hands of the bouncers, who have since been charged with attempted murder and are currently being detained at Corradino prison.
Stephen Catania, 41 of San Gwann, and Bernard Briffa, 24 from Valletta, are the first two to be arraigned after their identities were confirmed by eyewitnesses who reported the aggression to the police and found the two Sicilian men unconscious in a pool of blood in St George’s Road in Paceville.
Police sources say that another three people are currently being investigated for their role in the incident, and are thought to have been part of the ‘gang’ of men who assaulted the Sicilians.
According to the police, Miano and Di Mauro – who are regular visitors to Malta – were chatting up some girls inside the nightclub Clique when bouncers approached them to leave the place.
Riccardo Miano, himself a boxing instructor, calmly got up from his stool and said ‘OK’ while he gestured to his friend to collect the coats from the cloakroom.
But while Miano approached the door and stepped outside he received a violent blow to his head, immediately knocking him unconscious and opening a wide gash to his scalp. Once on the ground, Riccardo Miano was repeatedly kicked and punched by a mob of men.
The second Sicilian was beaten as soon as he ran out with the coats to assist his friend who was on the ground.
When Luca di Mauro repeatedly asked why this was happening he was punched in the face and called names.
Di Mauro was also thrown to the ground, and repeatedly kicked and punched until passers-by insisted they stop.
Apart from fractured ribs, both men had stitches to their faces and head, while both their noses were broken. A police forensic expert has said that the two Sicilians are “lucky to be alive.”
The incident was given prominence in the Italian media, while blogs carried comments from visitors to the island who stressed that Maltese clubs are dangerous places.
This week, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) has called on the authorities to regulate the sector of security personnel at clubs.
Meanwhile, home affairs minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici announced that new and stringent regulations are due in a few weeks.

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