One of the five youths accused of beating up another man in Oosterhout earlier this year has apologised to his victim on national television.

Stivan S, the only one of the five not being held in custody, told the Pauw & Witteman show he had seen the footage of the attack three times. ‘If you watch it, you wonder “what the hell are those boys up to”,’ he said.

S admitted kicking the victim once. ‘I tried to stop everyone because I was the only one who was sober, but there might have been someone else,’ he said. Pressed about an apology, S said: ‘Of course I want to apologise to everyone. And to my trainer. He taught me how to kick-box but I did not use it well.’

The youth’s lawyer Ziya Yeral said various incidents had led up to the attack. ‘I understand from my client that girls in his group had been harassed by the victim. We do not see that in the video. It is not as if someone was just picked out to be beaten up.’

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The youths were caught on security camera attacking a 25-year-old passerby and the incident was broadcast on a crime-buster television show in February. Four of the youths then turned themselves in to police and the fifth was later arrested.

All five, who are aged 17 and 18, have been remanded in custody for two weeks. They all come from Oosterhout, a town of some 50,000 people north of Breda.

A similar incident, also still under investigation, involved eight youths attacking a 22-year-old man in Eindhoven. Five of those suspects are Belgian and it is still unclear if they will be extradited to face charges.