Teen admits to injuring minor in carnival celebrations

A 17-year-old boy has admitted to criminal charges relating to a fight during the carnival celebrations in Valletta which left a minor with grievous injuries.

The defendant, whose details cannot be published, was arraigned before magistrate Monica Vella on Friday, charged with grievous bodily harm, wilful damage to third party property, assaulting the two minors, insulting and threatening them and breaching the public peace.

He pleaded guilty to the charges, as his parents, who were present in the courtroom, looked on.

The court was told how the police had reacted to reports of a fight among a group of teenagers. Officers who arrived at the scene found two injured youths. Their attacker had run away. At least one of the victims is understood to have been punched in the face several times.

CCTV and other evidence led to the identification of the suspect, who was subsequently arrested and charged.

His lawyers, Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri, requested a pre-sentencing report be commissioned to assist the court in arriving at a just sentence for the defendant.

The lawyers then requested bail until the report is completed, arguing that the teenager’s criminal record was clean and describing the incident as a “one-off occurrence.”

The court granted bail against a personal guarantee of €1,000, ordering the defendant not to approach or attempt to communicate with the prosecution witnesses.

A protection order in favour of the two injured minors was also issued.

Police Inspectors Gabriel Micallef and Kevin Pulis prosecuted.