A German student left Malta yesterday with the most unwelcome of souvenirs – a black eye and a cut lip – after he was attacked by a gang in Sliema.
Christian Lietz, 18, had just disembarked a night cruise on The Strand in Sliema, opposite the Forestals outlet, early on Friday morning when he and two others were surrounded by a gang of youths who blocked his path, delivering six punches to the head.
“They were walking towards the boat but then stopped and waited on the pavement. There was no argument before – nothing was said. All I know is that they surrounded us and a fist flew into my face,” Mr Lietz told The Sunday Times.
“Then they punched me five times in the head.”
The attack left Mr Lietz, who visited Malta for two weeks to learn English, with a cut lower lip and a black eye. His friend and brother escaped with slight bruises. Shocked by the unexpected attack, the students did not fight back. “We were confused and unprepared. We didn’t expect it and just wanted to get out of the situation,” he said.
The trouble was quickly noticed by members of the language school staff who immediately rushed to the scene to help.
“They came to help us but the group ran away,” he said.
Two language school employees said they heard shouts and saw a group of Maltese men beating up the students.
“We ran to help them and once the gang realised we were Maltese they stopped hitting him. One of them told me ‘I want to fight with you – what are you going to do?’ But they backed off,” said the employee, who preferred to remain anonymous. Another employee said the aggressors – believed to be aged between 15 and 20 – positioned themselves on the pavement in such a way to block the passageway.
The attack was witnessed by the other students who were frozen in shock.
Mr Lietz was accompanied by language school staff to the health centre and the Sliema police station to file a report.
The police media unit confirmed a report was filed about “an alleged fight that occurred near Black Gold (bar) in Gżira”.
The incident took place just a year after several Maltese and foreigners filed police reports that they were attacked by a large gang of Maltese youths in Gżira and Sliema.
Seven young men were eventually charged in court – of these, two were given suspended sentences and the rest were granted probation.
Asked whether the police ruled out any links to these incidents, the police media unit said the report was still being investigated and “as yet, nothing is being excluded”.
The incident did not dampen Mr Lietz’s positive impression of Malta and said it would not hold him back from returning. He also praised the language school staff who handled the situation and provided assistance afterwards. “The Maltese are very friendly and I don’t have bad feelings because it was an exception. I’m sure we have the same kind of people in Germany too,” Mr Lietz said.