Youth jailed for assaulting his mother

Barclay Vella, 19 of Msida, was jailed for a month by Magistrate Carol Peralta after admitting to violently assaulting his mother during an argument at home.

Despite being informed that since the incident, the mother had forgiven her son, Magistrate Peralta stressed that he was still going to impose a jail term, "because what you did was unacceptable."

The Magistrate went on to say that whoever assaults his own mother "stooped to the lowest levels, and jail would be the best way to climb back up the social ladder."

When asked if he had a job, Vella replied in the negative, adding that when he was about to work with a take-away outlet, he was arrested for breaching bail conditions on another pending case he has before the courts, regarding the theft of an automobile.

Vella, who said that he was prepared to reform himself after being in trouble with the police since he was 17 years old, expressed his personal disappointment, that a former girlfriend had argued with him and reported him to the police for breaching his bail conditions which imposed he be home before 9pm.

Before he was escorted out of the courtroom, Magistrate Peralta told Vella to "adjust his life" and that he was prepared to help him reform.

"While I cannot interfere with your current incarceration over breach of bail conditions, what I can tell you is that once you serve the jail term I have handed you, come back here and ask for me, and I will give you my word that I will help you find a job, on the condition that you do not betray my trust in you."