Woman tells court she still wants to live with husband who punched her

A court has heard a female alleged victim of domestic violence say that she still wanted to live with the man who punched her in the face.

Before Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras yesterday morning, the woman’s Egyptian husband was charged with inflicting slight injury and causing the woman to fear violence.

The woman, wearing a large pair of sunglasses in court, looked on as Inspector Eman Hayman told the court that the pair had disagreed over a personal matter when the blow was delivered. The accused was saying the woman had thrown items at him and that he had been trying to defend himself, added the inspector.

Hospital staff had alerted the police after treating the woman.

Lawyer Victor Bugeja, defending the accused as legal aid, entered a not guilty plea. He requested bail, pointing out that it had been the accused who had made the initial contact with the police.

The woman told the court that she still wanted to live with the accused.

The court observed that before the sitting the two parties had been hugging and showing affection to each other in the courtroom.

In the circumstances, the court ordered a protection order against the accused in favour of his wife prohibiting the accused from molesting his wife.

“You can’t do this to your wife. Ever. But now you’ll also be breaching a court order and face prison and a fine,” the magistrate warned the man, before turning to his wife and urging her to take steps to protect herself.

Bail was granted against a deposit of €300 and a personal guarantee of €3,700.

The court upheld a request for a ban on the publication of the names of the parties.

Inspector Eman Hayman prosecuted.