Minor remanded in custody over drunken assault

Somali minor Hassan Abdilahi Abdiwasa was remanded in custody after pleading not guilty to injuring shop owner Sonia Gatt yesterday evening.

Prosecuting Inspector Jonathan Ransley stated the 17-year-old migrant went to an internet cafe in Sir Frederick Ponsonby Street, Gzira. When the victim informed him the shop was closed, Abdiwasa punched her in the face. The youth was charged with assaulting and slightly injuring Gatt, breaching public peace and being drunk in public.

Legal aid lawyer Joseph Ellis, said the accused was willing to admit the charge of being intoxicated, however this would mean he had no criminal intent when he assaulted the victim. The defence demanded bail, stating the charges were contraventional and the describing the incident as trivial. "The accused is going through a culture shock as in his country he is not free to drink as much alcohol as he likes. He was unable to control himself after the alcohol he consumed went to his head," the defence argued.

Inspector Ransley objected to bail, saying the youth had no fixed address and was not trustworthy. "He is registered at an open centre, but lives somewhere in Gzira," the inspector said, explaining how the accused could not remember his actual address. Furthermore he lives in the same locality as where the incident happened, so it was said he could threaten the victim.

Magistrate Marsanne Farrugia remanded the Somali minor in custody.