A Somali teenager was remanded in custody today after seriously injuring a co-national who objected to him wearing earrings on the basis of faith.

The man, whose name cannot be mentioned by court order because he is still a minor, was involved in the scuffle at the bus terminus outside City Gate in Valletta.

He was also charged with breaching the peace, relapsing and committing a crime during the operative term of a suspended jail term handed down two weeks ago.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him and was denied bail due to the nature of the charges.

PICKPOCKET CHARGED

In a separate case, 21-year-old Bulgarian Mariyana Kirilova Petrova was jailed for a month suspended for a year after pleading guilty to attempting to steal a woman’s purse from her handbag as she was shopping on yesterday.

Magistrate Neville Camilleri heard how the woman tried to pickpocket the woman’s purse but was caught when she felt someone fiddling with her bag. The purse contained €80 and bank cards.

Police Inspector Kylie Borg prosecuted while lawyer Mark Busuttil appeared for the defendants.