A teenager was sentenced to two years' probation yesterday for his part in a burglary in which a man was bludgeoned with a cognac bottle.

The occupant, Jahdean Gibbons, was beaten so badly he lost consciousness and had to have nine stitches and five staples in his head.

Mr. Gibbons, 21, was hit in the forehead and back of the skull with a Hennessy bottle as four young men confronted him in his bedroom. The gang stole $13,600 worth of property in the burglary, in Curving Avenue, Pembroke, on June 17.

Yesterday, a 15-year-old was sentenced for his role in the attack.

Youth Court heard although the teenager did not inflict the violence, he told the frightened occupant: "Shut up or I will kill you."

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to burglary and unlawful wounding at an earlier court appearance. Three other men admitted burglary and unlawful wounding of Mr. Gibbons last month.

Among the items stolen were $5,000 in cash, a $3,500 gold chain, five gold bracelets, a gold pendant, a gold and diamond stud earring, a Toshiba laptop and two PlayStation computer games.

During the burglary, the court heard the defendant told Mr. Gibbons to "stop lying" as to where his valuables were.

At an earlier court hearing, Crown counsel Nicole Smith said: "The complainant, who was in great pain and fearing for his life, told them to look in the chest of drawers. While the complainant was being forcefully held to the ground, the defendant then said to him, 'Shut up or I will kill you'.

"Another young man used the Hennessy bottle to strike his forehead, wounding him and causing him to lose consciousness."

Eventually, when Mr. Gibbons came round, he ran into the street to ask for help and a neighbour took him to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

He received five staples to the back of the head and nine stitches to the forehead. He also had cuts to his face, right eye and right wrist.

Yesterday, defence lawyer Llewellyn Peniston said: "There is no other evidence at all that my client was present or wielded any weapon, or otherwise participated in inflicting violence on the complainant with a weapon, except for the simple statement he made: 'Stop lying' and 'Shut up or I will kill you'.

"He didn't go any further than to make that declaration."

The court heard the teenager had received a conditional discharge for possession of a knife in Princess Street, Hamilton, in July.

Magistrate Tyrone Chin sentenced him to two year's probation.

He added the defendant's Social Inquiry Report had shown he was "crying out for a biological father".

The 15-year-old had spoken of his absent father as, "It's bugging me out that my dad won't come to do things with me".

Mr. Chin said: "It suggests he is looking for a relationship with his father. I want to do something for him so he doesn't become a statistic in what we hear about the shootings and so on.

"How can we bring his father to the fore to become more involved in his life, because what I'm reading from this report is there is a void on that side."