Man admits injuring partner, son

A machine operator was taken to court under arrest yesterday after injuring his partner and her young son during a row.

The man, whose identity cannot be revealed by court order so as to safeguard the interests of the victim and her son, pleaded guilty, while his defence counsel, Peter Fenech, gave the court an overview of the relationship between the accused and his partner.

The woman had spoken to the lawyer, asking him to help the man with whom she had been in a relationship for the past six years.

The 40-year old man was charged with having caused the woman to fear violence and slightly injuring her and her son.

Dr Fenech said his client was admitting to his wrongdoing and that the child had apparently suffered slight injuries when he intervened in the argument trying to wrestle a butter knife from the accused’s hand.

Prosecuting inspector Nikolai Sant said he did not object to bail as long as the man understood that he would go to prison if he breached any of the court-imposed conditions.

Magistrate Gabriella Vella warned the man that he was not to approach or contact his partner in any way and granted him bail against a deposit of €150 and a personal guarantee of €5,000.

The court also ordered him to reside at his parents’ Żejtun home while signing the bail book three times a week. A pre-sentencing report is to be drawn up to ascertain what type of treatment the accused needed.