Maltese-Australian youth pulled off life support

Before leaving Malta to continue his European "holiday of a lifetime" in the Greek islands, Doujon Zammit, an Australian of Maltese and Italian descent, hugged his relatives and told them he would like to come back and visit.

But barely 24 hours after leaving Malta on Sunday - his first visit to the island - the 20-year-old was left in a coma after suffering head injuries in a fight with nightclub bouncers at Mykonos on Monday night.

After having been declared brain dead, his family yesterday made the heartbreaking decision to turn off his life support and donate their young son's organs, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

"He was a very lively person," his distant cousin Darren Agius told The Times when contacted yesterday. Mr Agius, 24, had met Mr Zammit for the first time last week when he was in Malta with his (Mr Zammit's) Australian 20-year-old cousin Cameron Tabone.

Mr Zammit, a former student representative councillor at Cecil Hills High School, worked at Cabramatta Leagues Club to save money for the "holiday of a lifetime", the Daily Telegraph reported.

"I spent last Friday with him... I had never met him before but we clicked immediately... he was a very lively person," Mr Agius said as he explained that Mr Zammit was his father's second cousin.

He had come to Malta as part of a six-week holiday around Europe and Greece was to be his last stop before returning home to Sydney. Before leaving, Mr Zammit mentioned that he would like to come back to Malta, perhaps next year, Mr Agius added.

"When he left I cried because I had a strange feeling that I would never see him again," Mr Agius told The Times.

Then, a few days later, Mr Agius heard that his cousin was in a coma after he and Mr Tabone were reportedly beaten by four bouncers from a club after the bouncers chased them because they suspected that the young men were involved in stealing bags. Australian newspapers have reported that this was a case of mistaken identity.

After being beaten on the head with a baton, Mr Zammit suffered extensive bleeding in the brain and was taken to hospital in Athens, where he was disconnected from life support yesterday.

AP yesterday quoted the general director of the Henry Dunant hospital, Maria Kairi, saying that Mr Zammit's family had decided to donate his organs. His heart will go to an Australian national currently hospitalised in Athens' Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre and the rest of his organs will go to save Greek people, AP said.

Mr Zammit's case has attracted international media attention. The Australian media reported that the police arrested four bouncers in connection with the incident. The 25-year-old main suspect was initially charged with aggravated assault and impersonating a police officer and three others were charged with complicity, judicial officials on the nearby island of Syros said. However, the more serious charge was likely to change to manslaughter or murder after Mr Zammit's death, AP reported.

A tribute Facebook page entitled "Doujon Zammit: Only the good die young" reached almost 5,000 members by yesterday afternoon. After he was pulled off the life support the message on the page read:

"I regret to inform you with the news that Doujon Zammit, our mate, was disconnected from his life support... Doujon was the greatest guy anyone could ever meet and, unfortunately, a lot of the people on this (web)site never had the privilege of meeting the great Doujon Zammit... Doujon will never be forgotten and Doujon's memory will ALWAYS live on... come and celebrate his life together on Sunday the 3rd of August at Cecil Hills Lake at 6 p.m., if you have candles or photos of Doujon bring them with you..."