Five youths granted bail in Sliema teen attack case

Five youths were granted bail on Friday afternoon following a brutal attack on a 14-year-old boy in Sliema on 31 January 2025. The five accused – a 15-year-old from Paola, a 15-year-old from Qormi, a 16-year-old from Siggiewi, a 16-year-old from Marsaskala and an 18-year-old from Qormi – are all Maltese nationals. Their names are subject to a court-ordered publication ban covering the minors' identifying details.

All five were charged with causing grievous bodily harm, causing bodily harm during an accidental affray and breaching the public peace. All five pleaded not guilty. The victim was left unconscious in the street, taken to hospital by ambulance and remained hospitalised for several days.

He was certified to have suffered grievous injuries. Inspector Wayne Camilleri testified about the incident before Magistrate Antoine Agius Bonnici, who presided over the bail hearing. A 13-year-old boy was present during the incident.

He told police he felt endangered by the victim and the group with him and contacted the five accused to assist him, after which the situation escalated. He also identified some of the five accused. Other individuals were involved in the attack but could not be charged because they are below the age of criminal responsibility under Maltese law.

During police interrogation, all five accused admitted involvement, identified other individuals present and cooperated fully. They were questioned in the presence of their parents. All five were granted police bail almost immediately after arrest.

The defence challenged the validity of the arrests; the court held all arrests were lawful. A brief pause was required during proceedings because one of the minors was present without a parent or guardian. The prosecution, led by Inspector Elton Buckingham, Inspector Wayne Camilleri and Attorney General lawyer Justine Brincat, objected to bail.

They cited the seriousness of the offence committed against a minor without any valid reason whatsoever, ongoing investigations, the fact that the victim and civilian witnesses had yet to testify and the risk of witness interference. The defence – represented by Mario Mifsud, Nicholas Mifsud, Charles Mercieca, Leslie Cuschieri, Matthew Xuereb, legal aid lawyer Ingrid Zammit Young and legal procurator Sandro Camilleri – argued that all five accused had clean criminal records, that police themselves had granted bail, that the accused had cooperated fully, that they had complied with bail conditions for two weeks and that CCTV and other evidence had already been secured.

The court granted bail to all five against a personal guarantee of €20,000 each. Conditions include signing the bail book three times a week and a prohibition from frequenting the Sliema area. The court also upheld the defence's request for the minors' case to be transferred to the Juvenile Court, ordering those proceedings separated from those of the 18-year-old accused.

Lawyers Jacob Magri and Arthur Azzopardi appeared for the civil party.