Husband fined €50 for injuring his wife after provocation

A man was today fined €50 after being found guilty of slightly injuring his former wife after she provoked him when she spat in his face during an argument.

The court in its considerations, said that Alex Calleja, of Pembroke, lost his house keys after arriving from Libya where he was on a business trip. He was about to separate from his wife at the time, and an agreement existed whereby he would enter the house from the garage while his wife Lilian would enter from the main door.

Since he had lost his keys, Mr Calleja told the court that he knocked on the door, just when Ms Calleja was about to sleep. Angry that he got her out of bed to open the door, she told him that this was the only time that she would open the door again, adding that she was not his servant.

Ms Calleja told the court that in an ensuing argument he tried to kill her by strangulation but she managed to escape from the house alerting neighbours, who then accompanied her to the police station to file a report.

The court, said, however, that it had been established through evidence by police officers, that she had previously made false reports about her husband, accusing him of abusing their children and showing them pornographic films.

Taking the witness stand, Mr Calleja said that he walked in and went straight for the staircase when all of a sudden she stood in front of him and tried to stop him. She spit on his face and he pushed her to one side causing her to fall. She was slightly injured after his large Longines watch scratched her across the face, he said.

Responding to her allegation that he tried to strangle her, he said it was his watch that caused the injuries and he dismissed the rest of the injuries as something that she had made up herself.

However a doctor’s certificate backed up by neighbours testimony said that there were scratches on her neck and that she was panicked, the court said.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera said that in this case she was going to have to weigh up the credibility of the witnesses provided because of the conflicting testimony given.

After taking into consideration the testimony of the couple, Magistrate Scerri Herrera found him not guilty of holding her against her will but guilty of slightly injuring her, excusable because he was provoked. He was then fined €50.