UPDATED: Tributes for Maltese-Australian after Mykonos attack

Tributes have been pouring in on Internet sites for Doujon Zammit, a 20-year-old Australian of Maltese and Italian descent declared brain dead after being bashed into a coma on the Greek island of Mykonos.

Mr Zammit, who was accompanied by his cousin Cameron Tabone, also 20, is reported to have been beaten by up to four bouncers from a club on the Greek island. The attack heightened alarm in Greece over rising crime at its tourist resorts, which provide nearly a fifth of the country's economy.

One Greek man has been charged with grievous bodily harm and possession of an illegal weapon after allegedly beating Zammit with a metal baton, according to police officials.

Zammit and Tabone, from Sydney, fled the club on quad bikes after being threatened by the bouncers following accusations (which they denied) of stealing a wallet or a handbag. However, it seems that two bouncers caught up with them and, after they refused to show identification, one of the bouncers produced an extendable baton with which he beat Mr Zammit on the head. The other bouncer is claimed to have punched Mr Tabone. It was then that another two bouncers allegedly joined in.

While Cameron Tabone suffered a broken nose and wrist, Doujon Zammit is understood to have suffered extensive bleeding on the brain. Hospital staff in Athens waited for family members to arrive while Mr Zammit was kept on life support machines. A third, unnamed Australian, who was with them escaped unscathed, Australian media said.

"The doctors have said he is brain dead," the victim's father, Oliver Zammit, told reporters outside an Athens hospital. "Maybe tomorrow we will have to turn off the life support and just take him home."

Some tributes praised Doujon Zammit as the "vibrant school captain of Cecil Hill High School" and a young leader who enjoyed the respect of his peers.

"He exemplified what it means to be a true gentleman, standing by what he believes while giving it his all. This tragedy is such a waste and couldn't happen to a more promising young gentleman."

An acquaintance told timesofmalta.com that Mr Zammit was "the most amazing guy who got along with anyone and everybody".

A facebook group page titled "Only the good die young" features over 1,000 members with recollections and condolences by friends of Mr Zammit.

Greek Tourism Minister Aris Spiliotopoulos convened an emergency meeting today with representatives of other ministries to devise a response to the spate of violence plaguing the sector .

Greece's opposition Socialist party said the government had not given police in Mykonos the resources to tackle the problem. "Why isn't the government doing anything to reinforce public order and citizens' safety?" it asked in a statement.

The attack followed the arrest last week of a 20-year-old British woman on the island of Crete, charged with strangling to death her newborn baby in a hotel room.

A few days later, a 17-year-old Briton died outside a bar in Zakynthos. A local coroner's report blamed heavy drinking.