The police said in a statement that the case of a Turkish teenager who was allegedly beaten up by a gang of 10 to 12 boys while walking with his Swedish girlfriend in Gzira started to be investigated by the Sliema district police the minute the complaint was lodged by the boy’s family.

Yesterday, The Malta Independent reported that a mother of a 16-year-old boy is claiming that her son was beaten in front of the Gzira police station and the treatment they received at Mater Dei Hospital left much to be desired. The mother also claimed that the police at Sliema told the father of her son’s partner that if they were him, he would tell his daughter to forget the faces of the aggressors. She also claimed that they were told by policemen at the Sliema police station that ‘foreigners think they are gods and can solve everything’. She said she found it strange that a report was lodged at the Gzira station initially but were referred to the Sliema police station eventually. She also stated that a police woman at the Gzira police station first said that she knew who the boys who form part of the gang are but then changed tack and said she did not know them.

The Police’s CMRU said: “With reference to the complaint made by Merve Artar – the mother of the teenager - which was also reported in the media, wherein she said that the Police did not take action with regards to the case of aggression suffered by her son,  investigations were initiated by the Internal Affairs Unit and contrary to what she claimed, it resulted all the necessary investigations were carried out by the Sliema Police immediately upon receipt of the case.  

“The investigation to trace the unknown youths who were responsible for this aggression took about two weeks.

 “Eventually, culprits were traced and they turned out to be a 17 and a 19 year old.

 In fact, charges against them have already been issued and registered in court. The hearing is to take place on 2 July.

“Further to the relative charges against them, the prosecution is also requesting a protection order. One of the accused was also charged with breaching a Probation Order,” the CMRU said

Besides, further investigations by the Internal Affairs Unit are still ongoing, the CMRU confirmed.