Photo left: TVM footage of one of the accused; Photo right: Liam Debono’s photo uploaded to social media after the attack

The five youths charged with beating up Liam Debono at his workplace acted aggressively towards photographers as they left court following a dramatic and heated sitting.

TVM filmed one of the accused waving the middle finger at their cameras, another one casually jumping off the court railings and a young woman who was with them jumping and waving her hands.

Malcolm Baldacchino, 18, Kyle Ellul, 20, Emerson Bugeja, 20, and his brother Tyson Bugeja, 23, and a 15-year-old who cannot be named by court order were prosecuted yesterday for assaulting Debono, 17, who is facing separating charges for the attempted murder of policeman Simon Schembri.

Police reportedly don’t believe the fight had anything to do with the Schembri case, but rather suspect it occurred over a young woman.

The youths initially pleaded not guilty but later changed their pleas, reportedly after the four adults realised they would automatically be sent to prison due to their criminal records.

An ambulance had to be called in after one of the suspects fainted. Photo: TVM

During the sitting, Kyle Ellul fainted and had to be escorted out of the courtroom, where the other suspects, their relatives, police officers and court officials gathered round him. At one point, the four suspects tried to physically escort him out of the court building but were stopped by the police. An ambulance was called in, but Ellul said he had recovered and refused to go to hospital.

Magistrate Gabriella Vella released the four youths on bail against a €100 deposit and personal guarantee of €2,000 each. They were slapped with a 6pm-5:30am curfew, ordered to sign the bail book daily, banned from leaving Malta and ordered not to approach Liam Debono.

During the sitting, Liam Debono’s defence lawyer Franco Debono said his client had forgiven his aggressors and wanted this to be reflected in the sentencing. This was possibly intended as a dig at Simon Schembri, who in a recent sitting refused to state whether he forgives Debono for running him over last May.

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]