Man accused of domestic abuse claims he snapped after years of suffering

A man charged with domestic violence against his wife without intent to kill told the court that he himself had been the victim of domestic abuse at his wife’s hands and that after many years, he had finally snapped. 

The court proceedings took place in English for the benefit of the 32-year-old Pakistani man and it heard how the wife had allegedly suffered slight injuries during an altercation on Wednesday afternoon. 

The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges. 

The prosecution, led by inspector Matthew Galea said that it objected to the defence’s wish for bail to be granted. 

“There is no immediate threat to the wife,” the defence replied. “This only happened once and it was the accused who was the victim of domestic violence for a number of years. My client snapped, the injuries were slight.”

The defence added that the man could live with a friend of his in Rabat for the time being and that for this reason he should be granted bail.

The prosecution had its reservations on this since Rabat was close to the home the accused shared with the wife in Mtarfa.

“He was provoked and it was the heat of the moment. He was only trying to fight back,” the defence said. 

To this, presiding magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit asked why he hadn’t reported the wife to the police for domestic violence after all this time. 

“It was for the sake of their three-year-old child that he hasn’t done so. He did not want to cause further aggravations or anger his wife any further.” 
The defence added that the accused was often insulted and hit by his own wife and that there was no fear that he would take flight and not appear before the court in the forthcoming hearings because he had a child at home.

The court granted bail to a deposit of €300 and a personal guarantee of €8,000. 

“Until the wife testifies in court, the accused cannot see the child. This is a domestic violence case so it should be heard with urgency. Can you promise to wait and not approach the child until that time?” the court asked the accused.

The latter said that he would wait.

He is to sign a bail book sometime between 8 am and 5 pm at the Rabat police station every day.