Juan Ameen
‘Drunk, loud and undressed’
Magistrate calls for action to prevent language students running amok
The beach at St George’s Bay, which becomes the scene of wild revelry at night.
Two young men were caught skinny dipping in St George’s Bay in St Julians just hours after they arrived in Malta to learn English and were yesterday admonished by a court and given a suspended sentence.
But the two Spaniards were not the only language students to get into trouble with the law yesterday. Another four ended up in court on different charges, including petty theft and fistfights, as the student season reaches its peak.
Magistrate Edwina Grima, who presided over the arraignments, had harsh words for the two Spaniards, Pol Prat, 20, and Javier Perez-Albert, 19, as well for other young students who run riot at the bay.
“This behaviour has to be admonished especially after the bay is repeatedly littered and boats are damaged by students,” she said.
The two, in fact, were among a group of 20 students who got drunk, undressed and ran around naked on Tuesday at about 5 a.m., the police said.
During the arraignment, prosecuting Inspector Nikolai Sant said this same scenario was unfolding on a nightly basis at St George’s Bay and it had become a “huge problem”.
“Every night the police go down to stop the foreign students who are always drunk, loud and undressed but end up being sworn at and made fun of – I think the bay should be closed at night,” he said.
Magistrate Edwina Grima said she knew the students were causing huge problems in the bay.
“I’m not going to victimise you but students in general have to realise that these things are not permitted,” she told the students.
They pleaded guilty to offending public morals and undressing in public.
While handing down judgment, Magistrate Grima appealed to the authorities to “take the necessary steps to remedy the situation” at St George’s Bay.
She jailed the two Spaniards for one month suspended for one year and fined them €100 each.
In a separate arraignment, a 17-year-old French student admitted to punching a 17-year-old British tourist who insulted the Frenchman’s sister at around 11.30 p.m.
Prosecuting Inspector Edmund Cuschieri said the Briton claimed he was only teasing the girl. However, defence counsel Mark Busuttil said his client wanted to protect his sister’s honour.
He also apologised in court to the British boy, who had a black eye and discoloured bruising around the other.
Magistrate Edwina Grima noted the French student had paid all the medical expenses incurred by the British boy, filed an early guilty plea and apologised for his actions.
She jailed him for three months suspended for one year.
In another incident involving a language student, a 19-year-old Spanish man pleaded guilty to slightly injuring a hotel employee who asked him to get out of the pool.
Miguel Del Rio ended up in court after he got into an argument with Edgar Farrugia who had asked bathers to leave the pool as they were about to start cleaning it.
Magistrate Grima jailed him for one month suspended for a year and ordered Mr Del Rio not to approach Mr Farrugia against a guarantee of €100.
Mr Del Rio informed the court that he would be changing hotel and apologised to Mr Farrugia for his actions.
Next in line were two Italian tourists who were each given given a conditional discharge for stealing a handbag from a tourist.
Gianfranco Martines, 29, and Antonino Ferrera, 24, pleaded guilty to stealing the handbag after an argument broke out with the victim.
Defence counsel Richard Sladden pointed out that his clients had returned the handbag and its items and apologised to the victims.
Magistrate Grima conditionally discharged the two men for three years.
Police Inspectors Nikolai Sant and Malcolm Bondin prosecuted.
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Gilbert Lia
Aug 14th 2010, 18:26
I hope that this is the beginning of something cause quite frankly these impolite students are really getting on many people's nerves.Its a shame having to drive by after a night out of these students.All the rubbish they leave behind on beaches and pardon my language,the nasty 'pee' smell in certain streets.Besides this,they go and waste precious time to the police by making reports on lost items so they can claim from their insurances...if they are all true reports!Tourism does not depend on these students,cause we have a lot of decent tourists who visit Malta all year round.When I go abroad,I am decent enough to behave properly,even when I was younger.So this applies to these students too.So well done to the authorities and hope that more of these sentences will be applied and if neccessary more harsher penalties will do good too.
mariopandolfino
Aug 13th 2010, 08:03
Il pulizija taghmel x'taghmel dejjm taqlaha. Il ligijiet qedin hemm u jinhtieg li jigu obduti.Grazzi tax-xoghol kollu li qed taghmel il pulizija.
Thomas Borg Barthet
Aug 12th 2010, 23:22
Wow this is a really big shame..... next thing you know the police we'll be arresting people for being naked in the shower.. whats wrong which just some youngsters having fun.. which of you have never skinny dipped before in your life when you were a bit tipsy.. it like were still living in the middle ages, at least they didnt burn them at the stake...
Pawlu Scicluna
Aug 13th 2010, 09:05
Thomas Borg Barthet There's nothing wrong with arresting people who are found to be naked in public. Those are our laws and the police did well in applying them. If the students and other visitors don't like our laws they are free not to come here.
Thomas Borg Barthet
Aug 13th 2010, 13:16
but dont you think damaging a youngsters conduct over something as trivial as skinny dipping is a bit over excessive? i mean if they were maltese and tried to get into university they wouldnt be accepted into most courses due to a silly night of fun.
D.Galea
Aug 14th 2010, 12:49
You realise that if you happen to have a window from which a neighbour can see in your own house you risk at any time of being reported for the same crime and it would have the same validity right? No matter if it is true or not, that has been dealt with in a sentence not long ago.
Franco Farrugia
Aug 12th 2010, 22:56
Oh, cut the cackle, all of you! It's one thing committing a crime and it's another skinny-dipping during the night. It's as if the Police and the Courts have nothing better to do.
All those who write against these students had better be mindful that had it not been for their presence this summer, tourism statistics would be much sadder than they are now.
It's as if you have all suddenly lost your memory - these are youngsters!
And look at our country! What do we have to otherwise offer them? We are a filthy country, dirty, and laid-back. We have barely anything to offer accept concrete jungles! And we expect others to come here, visiting Malta! We are a boring set! Boring! Boring! Boring!
Joe Borg
Aug 13th 2010, 09:08
Franco Farrugia if you consider yourself boring we do not consider ourselves to be so. Yes, the police did well in arresting those students and we expect them to do so again to anyone who disobeys our laws. If they think that because they are foreigners they can disregard our laws they are mistaken and we must not change our laws to accomodate them.
Franco Farrugia
Aug 13th 2010, 12:08
@ Joe Borg: Helllllooooooooooooooo! Anybody / Anything in there? We have to change our laws to accomodate OURSELVES first and foremost, not them! Yes, the country is BOR-ING! Watch my lips: BOR-ING! Very GREY! We are digging our heels in and we are trying to stop the clock No. trying to push it backwards! Impossible!
P.J. Pace
Aug 12th 2010, 19:44
If that were me in the vicinity and the guys are skin dipping, i would nick their clothes and set them alight in some rubbish bin, lets see if they can walk home in their birthday suit without attracting anyone's attention. LOL LOL Maltese humour.
Gerry Cowie
Aug 12th 2010, 19:40
Why are we back to demonising language students again. Another soft target in Malta. Are you saying that Maltese people never go skinny dipping? If it was only foreign students who did so then all this vilification might just be justified! OK so some of them cause other troubles too, but this is brought on by the skinny dipping episode! Are the locals perfect?
James A. Tyrrell
Aug 12th 2010, 19:09
I have to agree with Joe Busuttil here. Does the revenue generated by these students make up for the damage they cause to the tourist industry? A slap on the wrist is never going to be a deterrent. They must learn to respect the country they are visiting and if they can't do that they should be thrown out of the country and their passports blacklisted so they can never return.
marika mifsud
Aug 12th 2010, 17:33
The thing seems to be that no one is responsible for these students.
It's a shame that many hotels in Sliema and St Julians take in a number of students and these cause untold misery to regular tourists and neighbours. This results in unhappy tourists which is not good for Malta's reputation and unhappy residents who seem to have no alternative but to grin and bear it.
Something has to be done - and done quickly.
Joseph E Briffa
Aug 12th 2010, 16:58
I can understand the police acting in cases of theft and bodily injury, but I can't see why all this fuss about students singing and swimming at night whether skinny dipping or not. We were all young ones and we all indulged in these wild adventures at one time or another. St George's Bay is not quite in a residential area and some chorus singing is not bound to bother anyone.. And to hear a police inspector say that the Police have a big problem on their hands controlling these students is, I think, quite comical.. Why should the Police bother to intervene in the first place.
Paul Caruana
Aug 13th 2010, 09:10
Joseph E Briffa the police should intervene because the law was being broken Mr Briffa, that's why.
MBorg
Aug 12th 2010, 16:49
These students are rude , loud and uncontrollable.On sunday 1st August I was on the 8am bus to Chirkewwa. A group of these Spanish students got on the bus at St Julians. Although it was early in the morning some of them had beer cans in their hands. The minute they took their seat on the bus their show began.
They were singing and shouting at the top of their voices . We were all surprised how the bus driver managed to keep his cool and did not ask them to get off the bus.It was an hour of loud singing all the way. They knew that they had power because they outnumbered us.This is the show that Spanish lady who complained about the manners of a Maltese bus driver had to witness. I am short they would have won hands down.
Salvu Sciberras
Aug 13th 2010, 09:13
MBorg the driver should have called the police and thrown them off the bus. Who do these arrogant students think they are? Make the language schools deposit at least €100,000 which will be forfeited if any student of theirs causes any trouble. That is the only way to make these supposedly English language schools responsible because it will dent their pockets.
Tony Bonello
Aug 13th 2010, 09:14
Did you ever go to Spain, the sing and dancing is in there blood, like Maltese have complaining in there blood, get a life and enjoy. You should be thankful to these as they entertained the bus for free.
MBorg
Aug 13th 2010, 11:20
@ Tony Bonello
I " should be thankful th these as they entertained the bus for free."
Entertained the bus , my foot ! Try to have a bunch of these arrogant students, with two of them sitting right behind you and singing and shouting at the top of their voices for one whole hour. Enough to make you sick and ruin your day.
Alex Borg
Aug 12th 2010, 16:25
Kids will be kids and punishing them for it is wrong, there is a problem with disorder in Malta but I think it goes much higher then just students. There are worse crimes going on in Malta then children having fun. I think its time that the police forces concern themselves with more important duties such as the high levels of corruption throughout the whole island. I find it rather amusing they could be bother to waste their time with taking students who bring in money to court. When the could look to take all the high powered civil servants to court who steal money of the backs of the working class. I guess that the why Malta is.
john fenech
Aug 12th 2010, 15:54
The fracas caused by some of the students had been on record for a number of years. Apart from the untold grief to the locals the problem is escalating to deter the tourist from our Islands.
EEC language Centre – Student’s Obligation:
4 .Return home by not later then 11 PM, unless otherwise agreed differently with the family or given permission from your parents if you are under 18 years old or as agreed with the tour leader and the family.
Elanguest School - The school reserves the right to exclude a student from the school or accommodation if they are acting in a way which is detrimental to the school or other students.
Hence whether the student is under age or of age is immaterial the Hosts/Schools/ Agencies are the main partners to help control this problem. Obviously the Ministries concerned must lead by example.
Therefore those who have vested interests from the 60.000 student’s adventure in Malta should honour their obligations!
Otherwise, the general sentiment will be that the economical gains supersede all other considerations, including the serious repercussions due provocative behaviour and the damage to our image as a tranquil tourist destination.
Mark Vella Bardon
Aug 12th 2010, 13:49
Students will be students ...
the obvious cause is the excessive alcohol intake, apparently "unlimited".
It affects our local youngsters too, but foreigners are even worse hit because it is too expensive in their country to get pissed on a regular basis as is the scene here.
Our yougsters are more "experienced" and seem to be more resistant to binging.
Johnnie Bowdler
Aug 12th 2010, 13:36
Alarming though this spate of pranks and incidents taking place on Malta's beaches are concerned, why don't the magistrates order the defendents to do a couple of days of community service instead of giving an impotent and useless suspended sentence? The latter benefits no-one really.They could use their youthful energy by cleaning up the places of discarded litter and rubbish in Paceville and St Julians. Far more practical, and better for the environment of Malta, and for those of us who wish to enjoy it.
S.KOLUDROVIC
Aug 12th 2010, 13:32
Lets not go overboard with some of these students behaviours.
Come on, to be taken to court for having a dip at 5 o clock without their trunks on is quite ridiculous.
R Fsadni
Aug 14th 2010, 08:18
I don't know if you've realised, but we happen to be civilised and have laws on this island. So yes, there is something wrong in swimming naked in a public place. I don't think that these so called "sudents" with such a low level of IQ behave this way when they are back home!!!!
J Fenech
Aug 12th 2010, 13:21
Well done Dr. Grima! These little thugs should know that in this country we have laws and are obliged to observe them while they're here.
Teenagers out of control are all down to one thing - the relaxation of disciplinary measures at the insistence of the liberal and politically correct brigades. I still remember a time when the teacher entered class, everyone would go silent and stand up-and i'm only in my 30s
"Police....were sworn at and made fun of" My goodness!! where is the concept of respect for authority??? down the drain???
We need to seriously rethink of introducing proper upbringing like in the good old days to make real men and women, not a bunch of rebels!
victor rodenas
Aug 12th 2010, 13:18
St.George`s Bay is a Blue Flag Bay during the day ,....at night one can only see poles around....poles without a flag.
C Chircop
Aug 12th 2010, 13:14
The solution in my opinion is to fine such offenders and deport them immediately, making each one a persona non grata in Malta for a specified period.
Joe Busuttil
Aug 12th 2010, 12:24
Is it the time to evaluate the benefits of having these students here in Malta as against the long-term negative implications that these students may have on the Maltese Tourist Industry, hence our economy?
T Camilleri
Aug 12th 2010, 14:45
Joe Busuttil fully agree with you They are killing the goose that lays the golden egg. Out Tourism.
Karl Consiglio
Aug 12th 2010, 12:15
This is the first time I feel the wish to congratulate a magistrate. If these guys did not feel the need to be so loud, because the racket is the worst part of it, they would not have been caught.
Chris Sciberras
Aug 12th 2010, 12:07
More than learning English is on the minds of these "students" when they embark on their educational voyage in my opinion. Let’s face it, why would they pay extra for airfare and lodging, if not for the promise of a wild party island campus, when they could surely take a course locally in their own country. Maybe the people who profit from this business should take precautions to ensure their students keep in line, but that would be like them throwing the stone on their own foot. So I guess its up to the courts to make sure that these type of behaviors are not encouraged, by making examples (and not victims) of anyone local or foreign not abiding by the law.
J Farrugia
Aug 12th 2010, 11:34
During the arraignment, prosecuting Inspector Nikolai Sant said this same scenario was unfolding on a nightly basis at St George’s Bay and it had become a “huge problem”.
reminds me of what happened in 1987 when the then Commissioner of Police told the court that he could not guarantee public order in a specific site. And the courts rebuke was that he was the Police Commissioner and he has to use all his force to control the specific site. And the same applies to this incompetent police Inspector. He should be ashamed telling the court he cannot control a small bay. He should resign if he cannot protect law and order in this bay. We dont want to continue paying fools and incompetents their salaries. The citizen demands action and law and order to be respected by one and all, irrespective of the sacrifices they have to make.
D.Galea
Aug 12th 2010, 14:47
Hey now, easy. You're calling him incompetent because he was sincerely stating that he was acknowledging his limits? Are you in his shoes to determine what or not he can do? I'm sorry but with due respect your statement is blatantly stupid and short-sighted, he deserves admiration because it takes guts to say that needs more help to do his job properly. Do you know with how much more serious issues has he to deal with in the area. One of the biggest faults in these islands is that many pretend that everyone keeps giving the illusion that everything is under control when in reality it's not so.
S Witt
Aug 12th 2010, 21:22
I have to agree with your comment.. i believe that first they should try to control the beach by more patrols and than maybe after various arangements they might consider closing the beach.. but this is stupid to close the beach during the night just because the police cannot control the situation... i believe if they are arranage another couple of students in the following week the problem will start decreasing...
Lee Micallef
Aug 12th 2010, 11:26
Jailed ..suspended.... jailed ...... suspended ....jailed suspended .. can you see the pattern here ?
No wonder these students are misbehaving if they are only getting a slap on the wrist , Harsher punishment is needed to deter these yobs , if not Malta will become more of an attraction for disorder !
Tony Gatt
Aug 12th 2010, 11:23
A day or two in the 'cooler' should make them think again!
patrick zammit
Aug 12th 2010, 11:22
The silence of those reaping good money from these students is deafening.