THIS is the shocking moment a British tourist brawled with locals at a hotel pool after confronting them over pulling a woman’s hair.
Liam Stacey, 29, stepped in after the rowdy group were allegedly seen menacing the female guest and dangling a baby upside down.
Malta Judiciary/Times of MaltaThe three men were seen brawling as another lay facedown on the ground behind them[/caption]
Malta Judiciary/Times of MaltaThe brawl continued until Stacey walked away[/caption]
Malta Judiciary/Times of MaltaRoderick Sciortino remained face down on the ground until the fight ended[/caption]
Liam had told the group to be quiet after their behaviour began upsetting the children.
One of the Maltese men, Roderick Sciortino, reportedly slapped Liam across the face and sent him stumbling into his toddler.
Liam then hit back, knocking Roderick to the ground – sparking chaos.
In shocking footage filmed by another guest, the men are heard yelling and swearing aggressively at each other before further punches start being thrown.
Two men – Roderick’s brothers Horace and Nick – stepped in to fight Liam, as Sciortino was left laying face down behind the brawling men.
People were heard screaming and yelling around the fight as other men tried to step in and separate the trio.
The brawl continued to spiral out of control, before Liam finally walked away.
In the aftermath, one of the brothers bent down in an attempt to help Roderick – while the other is further enraged and begins throwing around poolside chairs.
Roderick was taken to hospital where he died from a brain aneurysm five days after the fight.
However, it was later ruled his death was a result of a long-running health condition.
Following the death, Liam was accused of causing grievous bodily harm. He denied all the charges.
A Maltese court heard a medical examiner say the death was not caused by Liam’s blow, describing it instead as a “pathological bleed” that struck at the wrong time.
Alexia Meilak, Roderick’s partner, told the court he’d had a history of health issues.
She said: “Roderick was unwell. He used to say he had a brain tumour.”
During the trial, Tonya Cook – a witness and senior British police officer – told the court on the morning of the brawl, a group of seven to eight Maltese men had arrived at the pool and began drinking heavily.
According to Tonya, the men had a baby with them and were spilling their drinks and even hanging a child upside down.
Tonya told the court the men had begun taking personal items from other guests’ sunbeds, in order to claim the lounges they wanted.
She later said she heard screaming coming from the pool and saw one man in red shorts shouting at a woman and pulling her hair.
Tonya said hotel staff had refused to intervene, despite multiple guests asking.
She told the court of her interaction with Liam’s partner, Natasha Jerrard, who she said was “absolutely distraught”.
Tonya helped Natasha to her room, before Liam confessed to pushing a man who had punched him.
Natasha told the court that one of the men had slapped Liam, which caused him to fall onto their two-year-old daughter.
She added her partner had punched the man, who then fell to the ground.
The British couple were on a family holiday with Liam’s mother and her partner, Martin Wesley.
Martin also appeared as a witness, telling the court the group of Maltese men had been “drinking loads”.
Following the ordeal, hospitality and leisure company db Group said: “db Group is treating this matter with the utmost seriousness and has launched an internal investigation.
“db Group is fully cooperating with the relevant authorities to ensure transparency and accountability.
“In addition, we have also taken other pre-emptive actions such as strengthening of security measures and a review of our admissions policy.”
The group said “disciplinary action would be taken without hesitation” if any staff shortcomings came to light.
Malta Judiciary/Times of MaltaOne of the brothers tried to help Sciortino up from the ground[/caption]
Malta Judiciary/Times of MaltaThe brother in red shorts was seen throwing pool chairs before attempting to flee the hotel[/caption]