Three boys, aged 14,15 and 16, faced different but related charges in court this morning, concerning Swedish students and a mobile phone.

The 14-year-old admitted to threatening three Swedish students and swearing in public. He was given a warning by the magistrate.

The 15- and 16-year-olds pleaded not guilty to handling stolen property and the 16 year old also pleaded not guilty to stealing a mobile phone.

Taking the witness stand, one of the students, Ebba Johanna Strom, said that on Saturday evening, she and her friends got off the bus at Naxxar and noticed the 14-year-old, who she identified as having bleached blond hair, staring at them from his bicycle and they became scared.

They decided to ignore him and walked off. But he followed them and he was soon accompanied by about five friends, who started swearing at them.

Ms Strom said that one of them started hitting one of her friends and as she ran off, her iPhone dropped out of her bag. The girl did not realise immediately but a friend told her what happened later. He also told her that he saw the 16-year-old take it.

Magistrate Giovanni Grixti deferred judgement for tomorrow morning.

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