Paul Muscat’s tattoo, identical to the one Dave Delia has. Photo: Facebook

Four young men, two with tattoos reading “f*** the justice” on their necks, yesterday admitted to beating up a student in an argument over a girl.

The incident started on Facebook when one of the accused warned the victim he would condemn him to a wheelchair, Magistrate Carol Peralta heard.

Police Inspector Spiridione Zammit said that the youngest of the group, a 16-year-old, had accused Ryan Vella, 18, from Żabbar, of bad-mouthing him with a foreign girl via the social network.

On Monday, the 16-year-old asked three of his friends – Leslie Pace, 21 of Vittoriosa, Dave Delia, 19 of Cospicua and Paul Muscat, 18 of Pietá – to accompany him to Mr Vella’s school, Mcast in Paola, as backup in case their help was needed. As the sitting proceeded, Magistrate Peralta asked Mr Delia what was written on his neck and, sheepishly, the teenager replied: “F*** the justice”.

The prosecuting officer said the accused had told the police that when they arrived at Mcast, the 16-year-old went to speak to Mr Vella. There were about 15 other students at the time but the police could only confirm that four were present. They left the scene before Mr Vella was beaten up by the four accused.

Victim was warned he would end up in a wheelchair

Mr Zammit said the victim ended up with a “dislocated” nose and it looked like he would make a full recovery. The teenager was punched and kicked while on the ground.

Defence lawyers Luciano Busuttil, George Anton Buttigieg and Jason Grima said that although they were not condoning any sort of violence justice was not about throwing someone behind bars.

They argued that the accused needed guidance, adding that any problems should be nipped in the bud and problems solved before getting out of hand. The parents and legal guardians of the accused sat in the public gallery. Magistrate Peralta asked whether the victim’s parents wanted to say anything and they replied that they had printed the Facebook exchange between one of the men and their son. In one conversation, her son was threatened and told he would end up in a wheelchair.

The magistrate noted that although the injuries were serious, they were not permanent and the accused had clean police records. He conditionally discharged them for three years and placed them under probation for the same period of time.

He warned them that their probation officer would watch their every step and report back to him if they stepped out of line. He also pointed out to them that he hoped they would remove the tattoos, saying justice was not just about punishment but about learning the consequences of one’s actions.