No disciplinary action has been taken against a soldier facing criminal charges over a violent assault on a 15-year-old student earlier this month, Times of Malta has learnt.

A spokeswoman said the Armed Forces of Malta was awaiting the court’s “final judgment” before taking action.

Alexander Camilleri and his brother, Feliciano, were accused of having injured two school officials and a student at Pembroke earlier this month. The soldier spent a few days in preventive custody before he was granted bail against a deposit of €2,500 and personal guarantee of €2,500.

The school assistant head testified in court she saw the soldier holding a 15-year-old student “in headlock under his right arm” and “rained punches”.

The student could himself face charges over an alleged attack on another student, Mr Camilleri’s nephew.

The army spokeswoman said decisions on the soldier’s future would be made once judgment was handed down.

“Mr Camilleri’s retention in the AFM in relation to the alleged offences, which are of a criminal and not military or internal nature, will be considered upon final judgment by the courts of law, in respect also of the presumption of innocence governing criminal proceedings,” she remarked.

In line with army procedures, “the adoption of internal measures intended for precautionary and preventive purposes, are currently ongoing”, the spokeswoman continued.

No information on the nature of these measures was supplied.

Read: Boy in hospital with head injuries after attack at Pembroke secondary school

Questions on the issue sent to the Home Affairs Ministry remained unanswered, with a spokeswoman telling the newspaper the government “had nothing more to add to what the Armed Forces of Malta said”.

The army’s decision to first wait for the court to decide before taking action has raised eyebrows in military circles, with some quarters drawing parallels between this case and that of former Bombardier Godwin Schembri. The bombardier was discharged from the force at the end of last year after a video of him mocking the army over a gate it installed in Pembroke went viral on social media.

The bombardier asked for his job back last month, when he filed a judicial protest in which he argued that the decision to sack him was unreasonable and discriminatory.