Group Of Six Aged Between 14 And 20 Granted Bail After Robbing Teenager And Causing Grievous Injuries With Penknife Near Triton Fountain
A 16-year-old boy is currently in Mater Dei hospital, having sustained grievous injuries after he was targeted by a group of six individuals aged between 14 and 20 near Pjazza Tritoni in Valletta last weekend.
The group, made up of five girls and one boy, allegedly approached the victim at about 7pm last Saturday and started hitting him, even using a pen knife. Police found the boy lying on the ground, with serious injuries to his face and cut ligaments in his hand. The victim claimed that the group had robbed him of his bag where he had kept about €90.
Police, aided by CCTV footage and investigations, identified and arrested the suspects, with two of the suspects being a pair of sisters from Gżira aged 14 and 15. Another is a 14-year-old boy from Żurrieq who, although cooperated with the Police, deleted evidence stored on his phone
Three of the girls in the group were accused of aggravated theft while the 20-year-old girl is also facing recidivism accusations and is being accused of possession of an illegal weapon.
It transpired that the victim had a relationship with one of the assailants’ friends, and that the physical assault stemmed from a previous verbal altercation between the alleged attackers and said victim.
Each of the six defendants was accused of causing grievous bodily harm and disturbing public peace, along with additional charges related to theft and possession of a weapon.
Although the court raised questions as to the charges against the 14-year-olds which were involved in the assault, citing the requirement of malicious intent, the prosecution held that such “intent” was clearly depicted in the evidence brought forward.
Appearing before Magistrate Joe Mifsud, the defendants denied all charges against them and despite the prosecution’s objections were granted bail, emphasizing their right to continue their studies, on a number of conditions, including a personal guarantee of €2,000, strict orders to not go out between 10pm and 6am, and to provide their signature at a police station once a week.
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