Video footage which could have uncovered the truth behind the beating of a 17-year-old at a Paceville nightclub three weeks ago has been lost due to the police delay in investigating the case, The Times has learned.

Police are wasting their time on trivial and irrelevant issues

The footage would have revealed whether the youth was attacked by five bouncers as he alleges, or if bouncers only intervened in order to break up a fight between the teenager and a staff helper, as Shadow Lounge owner Hugo Chetcuti has claimed.

Mr Chetcuti yesterday said the club’s CCTV system automatically stored five days’ worth of video footage before rolling over.

The teenager was only contacted by the police on Sunday morning following a story that appeared in another newspaper that day, despite his father having filed a police report on the same night of the attack.

Asked why he thought it took St Julians police so long to initiate investigations, lawyer Joe Giglio was succinct.

Dr Giglio represents several Paceville establishments, including Shadow Lounge.

“The police are wasting their time on trivial and irrelevant issues such as whether any music is heard outdoors after 11 p.m. despite no neighbours complaining about sound levels,” he said.

Ronnie Axisa of Kerber Securities, the company subcontracted to provide bouncers to Mr Chetcuti’s establishments, yesterday told The Times he unequivocally condemned any physical violence that may have taken place.

“Any bouncer found to have been at fault will be punished. We pride ourselves on the training standards our security officers receive and have no intention of tarnishing our reputation through the mistaken actions of any employees. Anyone who has erred will get what they deserve,” he said.

“Our bouncers are trained to protect both patrons and the establishment. We have never, in any way, shape or form, encouraged bouncers to physically assault patrons.”

He, however, said that, having spoken to the bouncers in question, he was “convinced that in this particular case they did nothing wrong. The fight was between the 17-year old in question and a staff member at the club”.

What upset the family of the boy the most was that it took so long for police to contact them. Having heard nothing from them since that night, the victim’s father received a phone call from St Julians police station on Sunday, mere hours after It-Torċa published a letter by his uncle condemning the incident.

The manner in which St Julians police began investigating only after the case had made newspaper headlines echoes the case of Rachel Ginty and Ben Ford, two British expatriates who were only called in for police questioning once The Times had published their story alleging that a Maltese man had beaten his girlfriend in Paceville.

Dr Giglio spoke critically of police behaviour within Paceville. “They walk around the roads gauging sound levels but then don’t inform establishment owners of cases of violent behaviour such as this.”

Had Shadow Lounge management been informed of the investigation earlier, they would have been able to pass on security camera footage to the police, Dr Giglio added.

He felt it was unfair that establishment owners were left carrying the can when they had spared no expense in setting up their businesses.

“It’s unfair. Owners do their utmost to ensure their establishments are safe and enjoyable spots for patrons and then an incident like this crops up and spoils it all. Where were the police during this incident?”

Another lawyer, Paul Pullicino, believes the police have an “official duty” to investigate reported incidents within a reasonable time but just what constitutes a “reasonable amount of time” varied from one case to another.

“Some cases are more complex than others. The police have a duty to investigate to the best of their ability but you can’t really put a time limit on these things.”

In a statement released yesterday, Labour security spokesman Michael Falzon criticised the police force for the delay in initiating investigations.

“Not only do the police seem to have forgotten their preventative role but we have now reached the stage where even police investigations are purely reactive,” Dr Falzon said.