Bruised girlfriend reports pimp

A man, who was caught acting as a pimp for his girlfriend when she turned up in hospital covered in bruises, was given a suspended jail term yesterday.

Nazzareno Lia, 45, who is unemployed, admitted to living off the earnings of prostitution of his girlfriend, 44, keeping a brothel, threatening and slightly injuring her.

Police Inspectors Louise Calleja and Priscilla Caruana told the court they had been alerted to the case after the woman, who cannot be named by court order, turned up bruised in hospital. Nurses contacted the police after she told them that Mr Lia had assaulted her. The inspectors said he would prostitute her in an apartment in Birżebbuġa.

In a police statement, Mr Lia admitted to prostituting his girlfriend over the past few months and assaulting her during an argument.

When discussing punishment, Inspector Calleja said she was expecting an effective one, not in the sense of a jail term but so that the accused would understand the effects of his actions. Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera told Mr Lia there was an axe hanging over his head and if he made a mistake, it would fall and he would be sent to jail.

Glancing at his criminal record, the magistrate said that he had various convictions for hunting violations and for fights and took this into consideration before jailing him for 18 months suspended for two years.

Lawyers Josè Herrera and Veronique Dalli appeared for Mr Lia.