Violent row lands husband and wife with scratched faces in court

A husband and wife were arraigned separately before Magistrate Joe Mifsud yesterday, with both their faces showing several fresh scratches.

A 32-year-old Moroccan woman was first to be charged with slightly injuring her husband, attacking him, insulting or threatening him and breaching the peace.

Inspector Joseph Xerri explained to the court how police were dispatched to deal with a domestic incident in San Ġwann and found the pair arguing. The woman had caused considerable damage to the man’s car, he said.

The court observed that she had two prior convictions dating back several years, both of which had ended with conditional discharges.

The court said it had “little tolerance” for domestic violence. “It isn’t just between the couple, but an attack on public order,” said the magistrate, noting the recent increase in the number of domestic violence cases. The court’s hands were often tied in such cases because victims chose not to testify, the magistrate noted.

In a rare dig at the press, the magistrate – himself a former journalist – said it was not giving a clear picture of what is happening in court with regard to domestic violence cases.

He also appeared to criticise the current law on domestic violence and its implementation. “The regulations are there, but we must follow them [for them to be effective]. I can’t move the goalposts. If the law doesn’t change, those are the ones I must use,” he said. The legislator should take this into consideration, added the magistrate.

Lawyer Noel Bianco entered a not guilty plea and requested bail. This was granted, against a deposit of €200 and a personal guarantee of €5,000, but the court made it very clear that this was only being done because of the woman’s children. He ordered her not to approach the husband, but stopped short of issuing a protection order in his favour.

Next to be charged was her husband, a 27-year-old man from Syria.

His lawyer, Jason Grima, observed that the charges against him were identical to those against his wife but that he was also charged with grievous bodily harm. He asked that the charges against the woman be corrected. The court replied that such a request could only come from the inspector and that in any case, a medical expert was going to examine her and provide an opinion.

Grima entered a not guilty plea on behalf of his client, reminding the court, in view of its granting bail to the woman, that the children were not only the wife’s.

The incident arose over the children, he said, and argued that social workers at Appoġġ had rated him as less “highrisk” than his wife.

The man was also a first-time offender, unlike the wife, the lawyer pointed out.

The court gave short shrift to the lawyer’s arguments, however, and denied bail. “Violence is never acceptable in the family,” said the magistrate.