A construction worker accused of splitting the skull of a colleague in a fight was accused yesterday of changing his evidence.

Crown counsel Patrick Doherty said Keith Neville Bean's testimony yesterday contradicted evidence he gave on Wednesday about alleged racial provocation before he attacked Michael Carey.

Mr. Doherty added that Bean's claim that he did not aim a steel shackle, which split Mr. Carey's skull, at his victim was totally different from the version of events he gave the previous day.

Two former colleagues of Bean at Correia Construction told the court Mr. Carey had a "temper'' but did not give specific dates or times when he may have used racial language in front of Bean.

Bean, 34, of Somerset Road, Sandys, denies wounding Mr. Carey with intent to do grievous bodily harm in the incident at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club in Hamilton Harbour in June, 1999.

The Supreme Court jury has heard allegations that Carey insulted Bean racially after the defendant threw a rope to him, to tie up a boat, but missed.

Bean punched Carey, who denies uttering racial insults, on the neck and the pair wrestled to the ground on the barge.

When Bean got up, he threw a heavy metal shackle which struck Carey on the skull.

Bean testified on Wednesday that he threw the shackle at Carey's head, but yesterday insisted he merely threw it and did not know where it would land.

Bean told the court that Carey said to him: "F*** you, your mother, f*** your black a*s.'' He told Mr. Doherty that although the words he used were different from the previous day, "its all the same meaning''.

Mr. Doherty said: "Yesterday you say Mr. Carey involved race by calling you a black c***. Today you say he said `I can't believe you f***ing did that you a**hole'. Yesterday you say there was a racial slur, but today you didn't.'' Bean replied: "It's all the same meaning.'' Mr. Doherty said: "Did you testify yesterday that you threw it directly at his head?'' Bean said: "You might have taken it down wrongly. I assume you wrote it down wrongly.'' Mr. Doherty asked Puisne Judge Vincent Meerabux for his note, which confirmed that Bean said he threw the shackle at Carey's head.

When Bean denied aiming the shackle at Carey, Mr. Doherty said: "Wouldn't you agree it's quite a coincidence that the person you hit with the shackle was the person you punched moments earlier and the person you had been wrestling with seconds before?'' "What are you getting at? I didn't mean it,'' said Bean.

"If you didn't mean to hit him in the head, why did you testify yesterday that `I threw it right at his head? I was tired of his remarks','' asked Mr.

Doherty.

"It's the same meaning. I just threw it because I was upset,'' said Bean.

Bean testified yesterday that he did not curse Carey, but that Carey had cursed him. Mr. Doherty said Bean testified that he "f***ed off'' Carey.

When Bean denied swearing, Mr. Doherty again asked for Mr. Justice Meerabux's note, which again confirmed the defendant testified he swore.

Bean repeatedly refused to answer Mr. Doherty directly when asked if he had testified the previous day that he swore. Bean said: "I didn't curse him.'' Bean said Carey made racist or sarcastic comments to him on the job every day and that "he had something to say to everyone''.

His boss, Dennis Correia, testified on Wednesday that he never heard Carey make racist comments to his racially mixed workforce in the eight years he worked there.

Bean said he "blocked out'' the alleged racist abuse rather than report it to Mr. Correia.

Mr. Doherty said when Mr. Correia asked Bean what happened, the defendant never mentioned racist insults. Nor had Bean's lawyer Delroy Duncan asked Mr.

Correia about the alleged racial slurs.

Bean said: "I mentioned it to Mr. Duncan.'' Welder Anderson Bankroft told of one lunchtime meeting in which workmen were talking about race and slavery and claimed Carey "said he was sorry we had to release you from your chains''.

Mr. Bankroft said, "He was referring to black people.'' But he could not remember any instances when Carey made racist comments in Bean's presence, nor did carpenter Ewing Davis.

Mr. Davis said: "I heard him say remarks like black people were just used for what we (white people) could get out of them. I remember things like if you're black you're stupid.

"When I first heard that, it used to get me angry,'' he added, saying he would "bury'' it in his memory to be able to continue to work.

Under cross-examination by Mr. Doherty, Mr. Davis admitted: "What I agree with is that violence is not the way to deal with insults whether on the work site or at home.'' Mr. Bankroft and Mr. Davis respectively volunteered they had left Correia Construction "because of seeing racial things'' and "because there used to be a lot of things being said''.

Both comments prompted Mr. Justice Meerabux to direct Mr. Duncan to get the men to refer to specific comments by Carey in front of Bean.

The case continues this morning with closing arguments expected.