Tougher bail conditions in girls stabbing case

A judge yesterday stepped up the bail conditions imposed on three teenagers one of whom is accused of trying to murder another girl in an argument over a cheating boyfriend.

This followed an appeal by the Attorney General after Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona granted the girls bail against a personal guarantee.

The girls were arraigned on Saturday when a 15-year-old girl who is three months pregnant denied trying to kill a girl of 14 over what is thought to be an affair with her boyfriend.

Her 16-year-old sister and 14-year-old cousin were charged with seriously injuring the victim.

The 15-year-old was granted bail against a personal guarantee of €2,000 and the other two against a personal guarantee of €1,000.

In his appeal, the Attorney General said that when one took into consideration the seriousness of the crime, which was reflected in the 15-year-old’s statement, and the fact that the victim was still in hospital, bail should not have been granted.In the case of the co-accused, he felt the two girls should have been ordered to make a deposit rather than just a personal guarantee. Defence lawyers Josè Herrera and Franco Debono said the fact remained that their clients were minors and there was no place to detain them. Prison was not an ideal situation for teenagers and they proposed their clients would make a deposit and be assigned a probation officer to assist them.

But lawyer Elaine Rizzo, representing the Attorney General, said that a situation where just because they were minors, the accused were treated as if nothing had happened should be avoided.

Mr Justice Michael Mallia decreed that the 15-year-old would make a deposit of €500 while the co-accused would deposit €400 and all three would be assigned a probation officer.