A 17-year-old Somali who drank “three bottles” of vodka before hitting a shopkeeper who refused to give him beer and a lighter has been sentenced to a month in jail.

The teenager, who is not being named because he is a minor, turned up at a shop in Ponsonby Street, Ġzira, at 2am on October 27 and demanded that he be given beer and a lighter.

The shopkeeper, Sonia Gatt, testified yesterday that at the time of the incident, the shop was closed and the glass door at the front was locked. However, the accused started banging so violently on the door that she panicked and opened it, fearing he would smash it.

She admitted that it was a stupid thing to do given the circumstances and said that he hit her in the face and called her a whore. She managed to close the door and phoned the police.

She could recall that a passerby pulled him away from the shop and after he walked away she followed him up the road until the police arrived. When asked why she did so, she said that she wanted to make sure he was arrested.

Taking the witness stand, the accused, aided by an interpreter, said that he couldn’t remember a thing about that night except for the fact that he had managed to drink three bottles of vodka in Paceville.

He could not remember how he managed to get to Ġzira from Paceville. He said that he worked part time as a cleaner and also painted houses.

In submissions on punishment, his legal aid lawyer, Joseph Ellis, argued that he was a minor who had lived in Malta for only nine months and was not used to drinking alcohol, especially when drinking was not something which was done socially in his culture.

He said it was Ms Gatt who had provoked the incident by opening the door when she saw him in a drunken state. He had no intention to harm.

Magistrate Carol Peralta found him guilty of the charges. She said that being drunk was not an excuse and sentenced him to a month in jail.

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