The arrest of a 15-year-old at a drug rehabilitation centre after officials told the police that he had tried to escape was illegal and based on "factually incorrect" information given to the police, a court said.

In a judgment delivered by duty magistrate Marse-Ann Farrugia on Wednesday evening, the court ordered the minor back to the centre.

This happened at the end of a hearing in which the minor was arraigned and charged with breaching bail conditions imposed upon him in separate proceedings before the Juvenile Court. 

On June 5, the teen was granted bail under the specific condition of “successfully completing a residential programme” to help him overcome his drug dependency. 

That same day, the minor, who is under the care and custody of the social services authorities, entered a Caritas therapeutic centre for adolescents.

In the first few days he was registering progress.

But, on June 22, indecision began to surface and the youngster opened up to his care professionals, expressing his wish to quit because he was finding the programme too hard. 

They did their best to convince him to hang in there.

Sensing the boy’s indecision, they spoke to the social services authorities to discuss an alternative placement if he decided to leave rehab. 

On Tuesday, the minor told his probation officer that he wanted to stay, but by the evening he appeared to have had a change of heart.

By Wednesday morning his mind was made up. 

The officials at the centre said that he had even apparently hinted that he would attempt escape unless they let him go. 

Police were told the minor tried to escape

Then, for some reason, on Wednesday morning the rehabilitation officials contacted the police, claiming that the minor had tried to escape. 

Faced with that information, the police went to the centre, arrested the minor and charged him in court with breaching bail conditions, further requesting forfeiture of a €2,000 personal guarantee. 

His lawyers, however, contested the validity of that arrest. 

Since the matter was closely linked to the solitary charge facing the minor, Magistrate Farrugia heard evidence during the arraignment to be able to reach a decision. 

And that evidence clearly showed that despite expressing his wish to leave rehab, the minor had never attempted escape. 

Had he wanted to, he could easily have done so since the centre was not a confined area, observed the court. 

Nor would he have forewarned the professionals caring for him. 

He had not signed any document to confirm that he was quitting the programme. 

The minor’s behaviour clearly reflected his indecision because he was finding the way ahead too hard. 

The officials at the centre did not try to physically restrain him but rather tried to convince him “through dialogue” and rightly so, continued the court. 

However, for some reason, they then decided to terminate his programme and instead of telling social services, they contacted the police who had no option but to charge the youngster.

The information given to the prosecutors turned out to be “factually incorrect” and consequently the arrest was illegal and the charge was not proven, the magistrate said. 

She added that the rehab officials should have informed the social services authorities having care and custody of the minor about such termination and those would in turn have informed the police. 

The prosecutors were not bound to press fresh charges but could have also informed the juvenile court which granted bail.

The accused in this case was a 15-year-old, observed the magistrate, pointing out that even with the best of upbringing, this was an age of “rebellion and doubtlessly a lack of maturity”.

Consequently, one would expect a greater sense of sensibility and sensitivity in dealing with such an accused who is a minor”, said Farrugia, ordering his immediate return to the centre. 

The arrest was declared illegal, though through no fault of the prosecutors, and the accused acquitted. 

Lawyers Mario Mifsud and Nicholas Mifsud were defence counsel.