Boatmen ordered to pay €16,455 after injuring rival in battle for clients

A scuffle which broke out at Mġarr harbour between rival operators of pleasure boats to Comino has landed one of them with a permanent disability and the other two with a €16,455 damages bill. The incident happened in July 2015. Frank Buttigieg, who fared worse off, filed a civil suit for damages against his two direct competitors Paul and Joseph Buttigieg. The court heard that a number of tourists had just arrived in Gozo and Mario Buttigieg, Frank's business partner, was speaking to four of them about taking them to Comino when Paul Buttigieg shoulder-butted him in an attempt to entice the tourists to his own boat. Frank Buttigieg  stepped in, showing his disapproval and rival Paul Buttigieg  punched him and knocked him over. Joseph Buttigieg joined the fray allegedly punching Frank Buttigieg in the face and inflicting a deep cut with a key. “It was two against one,” Frank Buttigieg had testified, explaining how he had been taken unawares by the sudden violent reaction and had only sought to shield himself from the blows as he lay on the hard cement paving. Giving his version, Paul Buttigieg claimed that he had been trying to strike a deal with the tourists when his rival...