A 14-year-old student has been charged with two separate stabbings within the space of a week. 

The child, who is from Msida but who cannot be named due to his age, is pleading not guilty in both cases and says he acted in self-defence.

He was arrested on the afternoon of July 27 after the police found a 21-year-old Englishman bleeding profusely in Locker Street, Sliema. The man, who lives in Mosta, had been stabbed in the chest using a kitchen knife inside an apartment. 

Both the 21-year-old and 14-year-old required hospital treatment, with the police saying the teenager’s injuries were compatible with those received during a beating. 

Blood-splattered stairs at the Locker Street apartment block.

The teenager was arraigned on Saturday morning and charged with two counts of grievous bodily harm.

A court heard that he was also allegedly involved in another incident involving a knife earlier that week, involving a 24-year-old. 

That violent incident took place inside a Pietà residence and was reported to the police by the 14-year-old himself on July 23, the prosecution said. 

However, the 24-year-old had subsequently supplied a contrasting version, the prosecution explained.

According to Malta’s criminal code, in cases when an offender is aged between 14 and 16 and is shown to have acted with “mischievous discretion”, the punishment is decreased by one or two degrees.

Prosecutors objected to the accused’s request for bail, arguing that the charges he faced were serious and had taken place within a few days of each other. 

But after hearing submissions from both sides, magistrate Monica Vella upheld the bail request under various conditions. They include a deposit of €500, a personal guarantee of €3500 and a warning not to approach the alleged victims who are still to testify. 

Inspectors Jessica Bezzina and Roderick Attard prosecuted.