Man accused of punching wife on the nose granted bail, a week after arraignment

A man accused of breaking his wife's nose in a domestic argument has been released on bail, after spending a week in preventive custody.

The accused, who is not being named in order to protect the identity of the victim, is understood to have been arrested on new year's eve after his wife called the police from neighbour's house.

He stands charged with grievously injuring the woman, causing her to fear violence, insulting and threatening her.

During his arraignment on 31 December, duty magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech was told that the accused had punched his wife in the face after allegedly discovering that she had been unfaithful. Running down the stairs in a frantic bid to escape, the woman had cleared the bottom four stairs in a single bound, fracturing her leg in the process. Despite the broken leg, the woman had knocked on the doors of several neighbour's houses, until one finally allowed her in to call the police.

The court had initially denied the accused bail due to the risk that he attempt to suborn witnesses, but after the case was assigned to magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo and all witnesses had been heard, it held that his continued detention was no longer necessary.

The man was released on bail against a deposit of €800 and a personal guarantee of €5,000. A protection order was issued in favour of the man's wife and children.

Inspector John Spiteri is prosecuting. Lawyers Franco Debono, Amadeus Cachia and Marion Camilleri were defence counsel.