Woman fined for assaulting facilitator

A woman has been conditionally discharged for two years and fined Lm300 when she admitted to assaulting her son's facilitator after learning that the boy was not being allowed out during his break.

Magistrate Abigail Lofaro heard how the boy was kept indoors when a doctor at a health centre, who did not examine the boy, wrongly informed the facilitator that he suffered from an infectious condition that could be spread to other children.

After hearing the mother admit to assaulting and slightly injuring Maria Grech, who is her son's facilitator, the magistrate heard how on November 7, 2001, Ms Grech was driving into the school when the mother approached her car, opened the door and started hitting her and pulling at her hair.

When the police intervened, the mother explained she did what she did because Ms Grech did not allow her son out of the classroom during the break.

It resulted that decision not to let the boy out had been taken when Ms Grech and her colleague Joseph Briffa had taken the boy to a health centre.

Without so much as examining the boy, the doctor at the health centre told them the boy had ringworm and instructed them not to allow him to go near other children as his condition was contagious.

After the boy was forbidden from playing with his friend for a month, it eventually resulted that the boy's condition could not be contracted by others.

On evaluating the case, Magistrate Lofaro deplored the diagnosis of the doctor and noted that the mother had acted when she was in an emotional state as her son had been taken to the health centre without informing her and a doctor had ordered that he be segregated without examining him.

The name of the mother is not being published to protect the identity of the boy in light of the sensitive nature of the case which involves his health condition.

Police Inspector Paul Camilleri prosecuted.