A Brazilian lawyer and her two friends were beaten up by six nightclub bouncers in Paceville in a brawl during which policemen who intervened were also injured, a court heard yesterday.

Lilian Ronsoni Mendes, 33, Adalberto Goncalves Amorim, 37, and Luciano Cesar Leite, 28, pleaded guilty to assaulting policemen, violently disobeying orders and being drunk in a public place.

In a separate arraignment, 26-year-old Marko Zukic, a bouncer, admitted to seriously injuring the Brazilians and working as a security guard without the necessary permit.

The Brazilians got involved in an argument with the bouncers on Thursday at around 5.30 a.m. as they were celebrating a friend’s birthday at Bar Native.

As it escalated into a fight, Mr Amiroim lost his four front teeth, Mr Leite was cut across his eyebrow and Ms Mendes ended up with bruises all over her body, the court heard.

Their lawyers, Steve Tonna Lowell and Stefano Filletti, argued that ironically, only one Serbian bouncer was arrested and the five Maltese bouncers escaped arrest.

It was their clients who had called the police to intervene but the brawl did not stop after they arrived. It was the confusion of the moment that led to the charges being issued against them, the lawyers said.

Police Inspector Trevor Micallef hit back at insinuations made by the lawyers that the police did not investigate the part the bouncers might have played, saying they had run away from the scene and the police were still investigating.

“Police officers do not go to work expecting to be hurt,” he said. While the lawyers were arguing that a suspended jail term would be excessive, one day the police would be asking for effective jail terms if such cases continue to be regular, he added.

The lawyers asked Magistrate Edwina Grima to take into consideration that their clients had not purposely attacked the police but the situation had developed the way it did because there was such a commotion.

Magistrate Grima conditionally discharged the three Brazilians for three years and fined Mr Amiroim €798 for the illegal possession of a harpoon found at his home.

In the arraignment of Mr Zukic, lawyer Stefano Filletti, appearing for Mr Leite, said that he was seeking compensation towards plastic surgery since his client was a model.

Lawyer Gianluca Caruana Curran, appearing for Mr Zukic, said his client was registering an admission and that he was leaving the island within a month.

Magistrate Grima handed down a two-year jail term suspended for four years and fined the bouncer €100. He was also ordered to pay Mr Leite €1,000 in compensation within six months.