Five teenagers charged with assaulting 14-year-old boy in Sliema

Five teenagers, who cannot be named by court order, have denied assaulting a 14-year-old boy in Sliema last month.

Two 15-year-olds from Msida and Qormi, identified as 'AB' and 'IJ' respectively, 16-year-old twins from Qormi, identified as 'CD' and 'EF', and an 18-year-old Marsascala man, identified as 'GH', all Maltese nationals, appeared in court Friday.

Police inspector Wayne Camilleri explained that the police were informed about the incident in late January.

A 14-year-old boy alleged that he had been assaulted by a group of youths. The alleged victim was in a bad condition and was taken to Mater Dei Hospital for treatment, the inspector said.

Upon arrival at the scene, officers found a 13-year-old boy, ‘KL’, alone. The boy, who could not appear in court due to his age, told police in the presence of his father that he feared that the alleged victim, who was with his friends, would do something to him, leading him to call friends for "back-up".

He only named CD and EF. The pair were spoken to and refused their right to a lawyer and released a statement. The pair cooperated fully with the police and gave them the names of others involved, the court heard.  

The pair were granted police bail.

GH was arrested after being named by AB, and a 12-year-old boy, MN. AB exercised his right to silence.

The defence then individually contested the arrests of the accused, which were declared valid by the court.

All five pleaded not guilty to charges of injuring a minor, being involved in an accidental affray in which the victim sustained grievous injuries and breaching the public peace.

Name bans

Before the arraignment got underway, lawyers representing the four minors requested a ban on the publication of their clients’ names, citing the Juvenile Court Act.

Lawyer Ingrid Zammit Young, representing the 18-year-old, also requested a name ban, saying the minors could be identified if her client was named.

Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi, assisting the family of the alleged victim, objected to the request.

Defence lawyer Charles Mercieca, assisting two 16-year-old twins from Qormi, requested the court transfer the case to the Juvenile Court.

“Everyone needs to understand that everyone is equal before the law and should be treated the same,” Mercieca said.

“Our clients are children, need to be considered as children, and should shoulder responsibility as children, without having their names out there”.

Defence lawyer Matthew Xuereb noted that his clients, the twins, had cooperated fully with police and answered most questions, while fellow defence lawyer Mario Mifsud observed the case could not proceed without a legal guardian present for his 15-year-old client, ‘AB’.

The case was briefly suspended until the boy’s legal guardian arrived at court.

The court upheld the defence’s requests for a ban on the publication of the names of all those accused.

Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi, appearing parte civile, requested a ban on the name of the alleged victim. Defence lawyer Mario Mifsud then said the proceedings should be held behind closed doors.

The court upheld a ban on the name of the victim.

Bail

The defence requested bail, to which the prosecution objected.

Prosecutor Justine Brincat objected, underlining that a serious offence had been committed against a minor. She stressed that although the accused had no previous convictions, they had an untrustworthy character, a characterisation that was strongly opposed by the defence.

Brincat added that the investigation was still ongoing, and the minor victim had not yet testified. Moreover, there were other civilian witnesses yet to testify, including eyewitnesses - also minors - who were involved in the incident or saw it happen.

Parte civile lawyer Arthur Azzopardi stressed there were several minors who cannot be arraigned but will certainly be called to testify.

The prosecutor chimed in that between the first and second statements, some of them spoke to other minors.

The defence underlined that the boys had kept all their appointments at police headquarters. It was also observed that the minor who is alleged to have been behind the assault cannot be arraigned due to his young age.

The different lawyers underlined that their clients provided information to the police and cooperated fully. The incident was also caught on video footage.

The court upheld the bail request, taking into consideration that the five accused had fully cooperated with the police, always attended when asked to go to the police, and their young age.

It acknowledged the prosecution’s fears but said they could be mitigated through stringent conditions.

All five were granted bail against a €20,000 personal guarantee. They were ordered to sign the bail book three times a week.

All five were ordered to refrain from approaching the prosecution’s witnesses, the victim or going to Sliema.

“If you breach the conditions, you will have to serve time in prison,” Magistrate Antoine Agius Bonnici warned the boys. A protection order was issued in favour of the victim against all five accused teenagers.

Magistrate Antoine Agius Bonnici presided.

AG lawyer Justine Brincat prosecuted, assisted by police inspectors Wayne Camilleri and Elton Buckingham.

Lawyers Mario Mifsud and Nicholas Mifsud appeared for AB. 

Lawyers Charles Mercieca and Matthew Xuereb, along with legal procurator Sandro Camilleri, appeared for the twins CD and EF.

Legal aid lawyer Ingrid Zammit Young appeared for the 18-year-old Marsascala man, GH.

Lawyer Leslie Cuschieri appeared for IJ.

Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Jacob Magri appeared parte civile.