Family 'lord' charged with domestic violence

A 42-year-old man, who was described as having a "mediaeval concept of the family", was yesterday charged with assaulting and injuring his wife and two teenage sons over the past months.

The man was denied bail after Magistrate Doreen Clarke heard Police Inspector Jesmond Borg explain that the man perceived himself as "the lord and the rest of his family as his servants".

The officer added that granting the man bail would "spell disaster".

The man, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, was yesterday charged with threatening, assaulting and slightly injuring his wife and two sons.

He was also charged with mistreating his children, with harassment, causing his family to fear him and being drunk to the extent that he could not control his behaviour. He was further charged with seriously injuring one of his sons with a knife and trying to injure the other son last September and with relapsing.

Names are not being published to protect the identity of the family.

Lawyer Raphael Fenech Adami was defence counsel.