Man denied bail following alleged assault on girlfriend over their children's appointments

The court heard that the accused allegedly broke his girlfriend's fingers and punched her father in the stomach following an argument regarding their children's speech therapy session

The accused, who said he is self-employed, was charged with causing grievous injuries to his girlfriend and minor injuries to her grandfather(File photo)
The accused, who said he is self-employed, was charged with causing grievous injuries to his girlfriend and minor injuries to her grandfather(File photo)

A 25-year-old man from Mosta has been remanded in custody after being charged with assaulting the mother of his children and her grandfather during an argument.

The incident occurred on 8 November at a residence in the same locality.

The court heard that it was the girlfriend who filed a report with the domestic violence unit within the police.

She told the police that the accused had taken their four-year-old daughter to her mother's residence, where an argument broke out regarding an appointment for the children's therapy.

At one point, the accused said to her, "Push me so I can knock you out," and when the victim's grandparents arrived, the accused punched the grandfather in the stomach, grabbed his girlfriend's hands, insulted her, and broke her fingers.

The accused, who said he is self-employed, was charged with causing grievous injuries to his girlfriend and minor injuries to her grandfather, committing these offenses in the presence of minors, disturbing public peace, breaching a suspended sentence, and being a repeat offender.

He pleaded not guilty, with the defense requesting bail, arguing that the dispute arose over who was supposed to take their two children, aged three and four, to a speech therapy session.

The prosecution objected to bail, noting that in 2020 the accused had already caused grievous injuries to another person and that the girlfriend and her grandparents still needed to testify.

Magistrate Leonard Caruana denied the bail request and issued a protection order in favour of the girlfriend and her grandfather.

The prosecution is being led by Lawyer Nicholas De Gaetano from the Attorney General's Office and Inspector Sherona Buhagiar.