An argument between four young women in Paceville last weekend landed one of them with a fractured arm and the other three with a conditional discharge after each admitted to wrongdoing in court.

Three Spanish nationals, all in their teens, were partying at a St Julian’s club on July 21 when an argument broke out with a French student who was accompanied by a male friend.

At around 5am, the three teenagers, who had been looking for the Frenchwoman, confronted her as she exited a club, grabbing her by the hair and fracturing her arm as they dragged her down.

The victim's boyfriend intervened just in time to stop the aggressors from setting fire to the Frenchwoman’s hair, a court heard. 

The three suspects fled the scene but were later arrested at their hotel following a tip-off to the police locating their whereabouts. Meanwhile, the Frenchwoman returned to her homeland where she is reportedly undergoing surgery for her injuries. Her father was present for the arraignment.

Maria Concepcion Gimeno Canuto, 18, and the two other Spanish girls aged 16 and 17, whose names cannot be published since they are minors, were charged with causing grievous bodily harm without the intent to put the life of the victim in manifest danger and breaching the public peace.

After being granted permission by the court to call their parents back home, the three teenagers pleaded guilty, through the assistance of an interpreter and after consulting their lawyers.

Warning the three culprits to “stop this showing off” duty magistrate Ian Farrugia added that if they were to return to Malta and repeat such criminal behaviour they would likely end up behind bars.

The court placed the three of them under a three-year conditional discharge and bound each by a personal guarantee of €1,000 barring them from approaching the victim for one year.

Senior Inspector Nikolai Sant prosecuted. Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri were counsel to the two minors. Lawyer Daniel Buttigieg was counsel to the third co-accused.