Gang Rape Trial: The Night That Began With a Sliema Cab

A court presided over by Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo has heard prosecution testimony alleging that a woman was gang-raped and robbed at a residence in Wied il-Għajn, in the Marsaskala area, by a group of five men: three named adults and two minors whose identities are suppressed by court order. All five are pleading not guilty.

Inspector Lydon Zammit delivered the account in testimony. The victim's journey that night began in Sliema, where she booked a taxi heading south. The cab dropped her at the Wied il-Għajn address.

Police later tracked down the driver, who confirmed she had been travelling alone. One of the five accused was caught on camera leaving the building to collect her, returning with her inside roughly seven minutes later. The residence was in complete darkness throughout.

The men moved around using their mobile phone torches. A tissue soaked in a substance the victim described as tasting of surgical spirit was pressed over her mouth, and she was told to message her employer to say she was safe. The assault that followed involved at least two of the men: one, who remained armed throughout, subjected her to oral sex before a second joined, at which point the first moved to vaginal and anal penetration.

One of the men filmed part of the attack on his phone. Afterwards, the men told her to get dressed. They handed her €150 and then robbed her — taking a necklace, a bracelet, AirPods, and €200 in cash.

Afraid that the building's own security cameras would betray any movement and bring the men back, she lay still for ten minutes after they left. Her phone had been left with her; she checked the time and walked out at 10:40 PM. She did not wash the clothes she had been wearing that night, keeping them intact as forensic evidence.

CCTV reviewed by the court shows all five men leaving the address at 10:30 PM, turning into a nearby alleyway and heading toward the Marsaskala playing field, where the group split up. Three of the accused were later identified through footage from a grocery store they entered after leaving the scene.

Police raided the residence on 17 April and recovered empty alcohol bottles, contraceptives, and a bottle of surgical spirit, items Inspector Zammit said were consistent with the victim's account. The court is also examining digital video evidence recovered in the investigation. The case has noted potential links to other similar reports involving the same group.

The three adult accused are Hussen Haj Hebbo, 18, a Syrian national living in Żejtun who works in construction; Mohamad Alrmo Hamdo, 18, who is unemployed; and Redwan Alhaj Hamo Albashar Ibrahim, 20, also employed in construction. The two remaining accused are minors aged 17 and 16, both Syrian nationals, whose names are suppressed by court order and cannot be published.

Defence representation across the five accused is provided by lawyers Jeanpaul Sammut, Kyle Briffa, Matthew Mamo, Franco Debono, Adreana Zammit, and Martina Herrera. The case continues.