The young man pleaded not guilty to all the charges pressed against him although prosecuting inspector Carmelo Magri said he had admitted the crime to police.

Inspector Magri told the court the investigation has not yet been completed and the victims will be questioned once they are released from hospital.

Presiding magistrate Lawrence Quintano denied the accused’s request for bail despite defence attorney Dr Abela’s claim that prison will be an inadequate environment for Mr Bartolo considering he had a clean record before this incident.