Woman conditionally discharged for damaging car during assault

Amal Chiheb Vella, 37 of St Paul's Bay was today conditionally discharged for a year after a court found her guilty of having damaged the car used by a man who was assaulting her.

The car actually belonged to Burmarrad Commercials.

The court found that damage of €1,457 was caused to the car following an argument between the woman and a man, Salem Alusi. The woman claimed that the man was drunk and had beaten her.

She admitted damaging parts of the car and said she would not have done so had she known it did not belong to Mr Alusi.

The court said such a statement showed that the woman had wilfully damaged the car.

The accused was given a conditional discharge after the court established that she had been attacked and was defending her children. Reference was also made to her clean conduct sheet.

Comments

Olina Tretyak (on 9/10/08)

@Duncan Sant

We do not know the exact scenario of what had happen, but we can read that she was defending herself and her children. It could be the moment when she felt her children be in a direct danger of attack, in such moment the right thing to do is to DISTRACT the attacker, and damaging his car did work. Surely, the aggressor would get more angry at the woman, and 1) he would attack herself (NOT THE CHILDREN) 2) he would decide to seek damages and call for authorities. Whatever stage of being drunk he was in, his mind had a program that argument with another person, even including violence, is nothing special, but damages of cars always are followed with insurance+police explanations and money must be taken. So, most probably, he turned from being aggressor into being victim, called the Police himself. The woman did the right thing if with damaging his car she stopped him attacking her children.

joseph farrugia (on 9/10/08)

That's ok. She's done the right thing. What do people expect. She gets attacked and assaulted and she does nothing? For me she did the right thing. She has the right to defend herself.

Duncan Sant (on 9/10/08)

Graham
I don't understand how you can protect yourself by damaging a car... I think this would induce more rage in the man (especially if he was drunk) making it more likely of him attacking the woman.

Graham Crocker (on 9/10/08)

So now Its illegal to defend yourself and discourage further attacks?
Its ok to assault women, but its not to damage a car in self defence?

Why show all these "Anti-bullying videos" at Schools, when they (the bullies) can pick up the paper and read about how victims are being taken to court for defending themselves?