Irish youth apologises for jet ski incident

An Irish teenager was yesterday given a six-month jail term suspended for a year after he admitted to involuntarily slightly injuring a couple when the jet ski he was driving collided with a paddle boat in Qawra on Sunday.

"Could I say how sorry I am. I didn't mean for any of this to happen," the 15-year-old told Magistrate Abigail Lofaro after he raised his hand cautiously to ask for permission to speak.

His lawyers - Cedric Mifsud and Anne Marie Busuttil - explained how the accident happened when the boy, who had never driven a jet ski before, developed a pain in his wrist and lost control of the machine.

Magistrate Lofaro, from the bench, told the young man she was sure he was sorry for what happened but the collision could have had very serious consequences.

"I can't let this case off lightly," she said, adding that the 15-year-old should have never been allowed to hire a jet ski in the first place.

Magistrate Lofaro said this was the fourth case of the sort that had appeared before her and she was informed that there were no restraints when it came to the hiring of jet skis.

Police Inspector Therese Scibberas, prosecuting, added that she had been informed that the teenager had presented the rental company with a false identity card that showed he was 18 years old.

The boy's lawyers said that this was true. However, they added, the false identity card was "so fake" that the rental company had noticed it since the boy's date of birth read April 31 - which did not exist.

The company had later agreed to rent out the jet ski to the boy after a friend of his vouched for him, the lawyers said.

Magistrate Lofaro noted that the boy had a clean criminal record and cooperated with the police. She also heard that the couple on the paddle boat suffered bruises and abrasions.

The magistrate handed down a suspended jail term and ordered that he pay D&B Water Sports Company Limited Lm600 to cover the damage caused to the jet ski. The name of the boy is not being published because he is a minor.