The father of one of the youths involved in a dine-and-dash incident at an Msida establishment has not only apologised and settled the unpaid bill by donating €250 to charity, but also offered to send his son to work at the restaurant for free. 

The owner Pasta and Co, the Italian restaurant where the incident happened, told Times of Malta that he declined the father’s offer believing the young man had "learnt his lesson". 

Last week, five youths aged around 17 ordered a full meal and coffee at the restaurant and then ran away without paying. 

The restaurant where the incident took place.

One of the owners recognised the youth as  fellow Sicilians as they spoke in a dialect typical of Ragusa. 

So he informed the Sicilian media and news of the incident made headlines in Italian and Sicilian news portals. The father of one of the youths recognised his son from the photos published and contacted the owners to settle the bill.

He apologised and settled the bill by donating €250 to the Gozitan charity Fondazzjoni Arka in Gozo, at the request of the owner. 

But the father did not stop there. He also offered to send his son back to Malta next summer to work for free at the establishment. 

“I told him that while I appreciate the gesture, I do not believe there is a need for this as we do not wish to humiliate him this way,” the restaurant’s co-owner said.

“I am sure he has learnt his lesson.”