A 13-year-old girl who is alleged to have bullied and threatened a 15-year-old in a case which escalated to a gang stabbing has been removed from school, the victim's lawyer said on Sunday. 

Jason Azzopardi said his client, a teen girl who cannot be named as she is a minor, was returning to St Benedict's school in Kirkop after a three-week absence because her alleged bully is no longer attending it. 

Azzopardi said the victim's family was informed of that by an Education Department official.

“We will welcome her at the school gate as she deserves, and she can safely return to her school desk,” the official reportedly told them.

The bullying case made headlines when the victim was taken to hospital with stab wounds. She told police that she was surrounded by a masked gang made up of individuals who spent the past months forcing her to give them money. 

Police have pressed charges against a 21-year-old in relation to that incident. A court hearing that case was told that the victim first spoke about the bullying when her father caught her stealing money from him. 

In his comments on social media, Azzopardi stressed that his comments were solely in reference to the alleged bullying his client suffered at school, not those ongoing criminal proceedings.

He said the victim's family was upset that their daughter had suffered as much as she had before they were taken seriously. 

“Why did their 15-year-old daughter have to end up traumatized, injured, assaulted, threatened, blackmailed, and abandoned before those responsible took action, especially when bullying against her was denied until November 29?” Azzopardi wrote.

The magistrate overseeing proceedings in the criminal case said this week that educational authorities should take "drastic action" when faced with serious bullying cases, rather than relying on the “restorative justice” method traditionally employed by the Department for Educational Services.

The restorative justice policy, previously known as the “no-blame approach,” aims to focus on corrective action instead of punishment.

Questions have been sent to the Education Ministry.