Flatmate stabbing over €45 ends with suspended sentence

A man who stabbed his flatmate over €45 that had gone missing from his wallet has been given a suspended jail term for grievous bodily harm.  Neil Andrew Vella, 40, had been accused of the attempted murder of Sandro Mifsud at a Birkirkara apartment in November 2012. Mr Vella had also been charged with grievously injuring his flatmate and with being in possession of a knife. During proceedings, the court presided by Magistrate Josette Demicoli heard that the accused had been living with the victim for several months, as the former had no place to stay and was going through a rough patch. The accused had told police inspector Elton Taliana and prosecuting Police Inspector Priscilla Caruana Lee that Mr Mifsud used to steal his unemployment benefits, mistreat him and keep a ledger listing the accused’s debts to him.On his part, the victim testified in court that he couldn't remember what led to the incident as he was on methadone at the time. He remembered suffering a blow to the back of his head and falling unconscious. He could not say where his other injuries had come from. Mr Mifsud told the court that he had forgiven the defendant.The police had also questioned Fabian Sciriha...