Two men charged with domestic violence remanded in custody

Two men have been remanded in custody on domestic violence charges in separate arraignments today.

The men, a 39-year-old from Qormi and a 45 year-old from Birkirkara, were both accused of threatening and slightly injuring their partners.

The first to be arraigned was the 39-year-old. Inspector Sarah Zerafa told magistrate Audrey Demicoli that during an argument, the man had threatened to kill his partner if he saw her with another man.

His lawyer, Frank Cassar, entered a not guilty plea on his client’s behalf. He told the court that the woman had bitten the accused and slightly injured him. The pair had been on bad terms for the past five years, he said in his submissions on bail.

Inspector Zerafa said the trouble was that the two would always forgive each other and bring criminal proceedings to a halt. The man had been arrested this time because a risk assessment flagged him as high risk due to the fact that he had threatened to kill her. The inspector objected to bail due to the nature of the threats and the fact that witnesses were yet to testify.

The court denied the man bail until the woman testifies.

The second man to be arraigned was alleged to have pushed his partner in an alcohol-fuelled argument. Prosecuting inspector Christina Delia told the court that there was a pattern of violent behaviour with regards to the man.

The accused pleaded guilty to the charges.

Lawyer Fransina Abela, appointed legal aid to the accused, told the court that he was sorry for what had done and was ready to submit to anger management treatment.

She requested a pre-sentencing report be drawn up, which request the court upheld in the absence of any objection by the prosecution.

The court, however, denied bail to the accused, citing his lack of trustworthiness.

The court issued a ban on the publication of the names of the accused, to avoid secondary victimisation of the women.