British teen handed €3,000 fine after assaulting police officers

A 17-year-old British youth has been slapped with a €3,000 fine after he admitted to having assaulted two police officers in Swieqi.

The accused, who the court was told has no fixed residence in Malta, had been arrested at around 6:45am yesterday morning.

Inspector Zachary Zammit, prosecuting, told the court how police officers had been dispatched to Tal-Ibraġġ at the time, to deal with a reported disturbance there.

Upon their arrival at the scene, the officers had found two visibly distressed women standing next to a car with the defendant inside, shouting at them to “get him out of the car”.

After being extracted from the vehicle, the defendant had tried to escape from the police on foot, leading to him being chased by the officers. He was found, shortly afterwards, hiding inside a quarry.

But when two police officers had approached his hiding place, the defendant charged at them and tackled them to the ground, slightly injuring them. He was eventually cornered and taken into custody.

He was arraigned before Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo on Tuesday, accused of slightly injuring the police, resisting arrest and with uttering insults and threats during his arrest.

The accused pleaded guilty to the charges.

The defendant’s father addressed the court this morning, telling the magistrate that his son had been under the influence of alcohol and drugs at the time of the incident.

In sentencing the youth, the magistrate observed that the defendant is a minor and had subsequently cooperated with the authorities. He was fined €3000, which the court ordered to be paid within a year.

Lawyer Martin Fenech represented the youth as legal aid counsel.