Public Safety Minister Quinton Edness has been left red-faced over his announcement that tax payers will foot the medical bill for an athlete injured in a weekend brawl.

Mr. Edness made the decision on Monday after Zambian athlete and Bermuda Race Weekend 10k winner Charles Malinga was knocked unconscious outside the Odyssey nightclub on Front Street in the early hours of Monday morning.

But eyewitnesses have now come forward claiming Mr. Malinga was responsible for provoking the assault, saying that he approached a woman at the club who was with her boyfriend.

The eyewitnesses say it was Mr. Malinga who landed the first blow on the woman after she rejected his advances. The woman's companion then stepped in to defend her.

Last night Mr. Edness implied that, although it was too late for the offer to be withdrawn, he may have been too quick off the blocks in painting Mr.

Malinga as the victim of the attack.

Mr. Edness defended his decision, saying it had been the right one at the time. But he also suggested the offer might not have been made if all the facts of the attack had been known.

"We thought he had been injured unnecessarily and we made the offer as a form of apology to him and also to halt the immediate negative press that we were getting,'' Mr. Edness told The Royal Gazette .

"We still stand by that decision. We have since heard that he may have been the one who provoked the attack. I have not had that confirmed but if that is the case we are not going to withdraw that offer. It has already been made.

"I have heard a lot of speculative talk and I don't want to speculate but we made the offer at the time for genuine reasons.

"At the time this Country was getting a lot of bad Press and so we responded and responded quickly.

"It's all right to go back with hindsight and say "hah hah hah'' but the decision was made at the time for reasons we felt necessary.

"There have been cases in the past where holidaymakers have been beaten up and the Minister of Tourism has offered a formal apology and offered them a free stay in Bermuda.'' But Shadow Public Safety Minister Alex Scott last night said Mr. Edness had acted too quickly.

And he suggested that, if Mr. Malinga did provoke the attack, the offer to pay his medical expenses should be withdrawn.

"While we can appreciate Mr. Edness' intentions he seems to have moved prematurely,'' Mr. Scott said.

"And if you make an error you don't then compound that error. We would not have acted so quickly and we see no reason why, if there has been misinformation and Mr. Malinga was the author of his own misfortune, the offer cannot be withdrawn.'' Mr. Malinga, 29, was in intensive care at the King Edward Memorial Hospital for two days before being moved to a general ward last night where his condition is described as stable. His medical bill is thought to be in excess of $1,000.

Police have interviewed him on at least two occasions since the attack but as yet it is not known whether the athlete, who romped to victory in last weekend's 10k race, will press charges against his attackers.

Eyewitnesses to the beating claim Mr. Malinga was at least partly responsible for provoking the attack after approaching a woman at the club.

A Police spokeswoman said: "Police visited him in the morning and have taken a statement. Our inquiries are ongoing and that's all I am prepared to say at this stage.'' Sports Opinion: Page 11