Arrested lout, 18, claims to have lost €10,000 Rolex

An 18 year-old youth from Kappara has been fined €1000 and handed a 12-month probation order after he admitted to threatening police, disobeying police orders, breaching the peace, uttering obscenities in public and throwing glass bottles.

Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona heard Inspector Jason Francis Sultana explain how police had apprehended Mathew Castillo last Sunday at around 9:30pm, after they reacted to reports of a rowdy group of people throwing bottles and glasses at passers-by, near Stepdown bar in Sliema. A neighbour had informed the police of the incident after Castillo threw a glass at him when he had gone over to reason with the louts. 

Upon their arrival, the police noted many fragments of glass strewn on the ground. They told the group to keep the noise down, at which point Castillo began to shout and blaspheme at the officers, calling them “corrupt.” He was eventually arrested and taken to the Sliema police station, where his behaviour remained aggressive.

Castillo claimed that he was beaten by officers there. He also alleged that he had lost a Rolex watch worth €10,000 whilst at the bar.

Lawyer Gianluca Caruana Curran appeared on behalf of Castillo.