Two men and a 16-year-old O-level student yesterday admitted to beating up a man so badly last Saturday he had to be kept in intensive care until two days ago.

Steve Magro, 28, and Malcolm Buttigieg, 21, both of Fgura, and the teenager from Żabbar, who cannot be named because he is a minor, pleaded guilty to seriously injuring 29-year-old Adrian Agius and slightly injuring another man, James Gafà.

The incident took place in Paceville at about 6 a.m.

Defence lawyer Josè Herrera told Magistrate Doreen Clarke that one of his clients had been insulted by the victim and the three men reacted.

Dr Herrera informed the court his clients would only re-confirm their guilty plea at the next sitting, once the exact nature and severity of the injuries sustained by the victim were established.

Dr Herrera said that since grievous bodily harm fell under article 216 and 218 of the Criminal Code and both articles listed different injuries for which the punishment varied considerably, it would be best to wait for a medical doctor to examine the victim and then testify on the injuries sustained.

Magistrate Clarke put off the case to next month.

As a date for the next sitting was being discussed, the mother of the accused teenager handed him his O-level exams timetable urging him to inform his lawyer accordingly. The case was put off to May 20 when his exams would be nearing their end.

The magistrate granted the accused bail against a deposit of €200 each. The teenager had to a make a personal guarantee of €3,000 and the two men of €5,000 each.