A separated couple who speak to each other through their nine-year-old daughter were in court yesterday after the man hit the front door of the matrimonial house in Gudja with a squeegee following an argument last Sunday.

The 40-year-old man had been ordered not to approach the house even though he lives in a garage situated at the end of the garden of the same house, Police Inspector Arthur Mercieca said.

The child told her mother their father would be taking them to the beach and then to Popeye village. However, after she got them ready and sent them to the garage, the girl and her five-year-old brother returned saying their father could only keep them until 2 p.m.

According to the woman, who testified yesterday, her estranged husband hit the door with a squeegee and kicked it while insulting her. He hit the door so hard the squeegee broke in two.

She called the police who found the man inside the garage. She said she went to collect the children who, by then, had gone back to the garage when the police were questioning her husband and he tried to assault her.

She said the couple communicated through their daughter who also brought the maintenance money paid by the husband. She said she completely disagreed with him on this but he would not speak to her at all.

This version was corroborated by Police Sergeant Marco Mifsud who testified that the couple were well known to the police because of the problems between them.

The man said in court he knew nothing of the squeegee incident or how it got broken. Magistrate Miriam Hayman asked him how it was possible he knew nothing when he had admitted to the police on the day of the incident that he was the person who broke the implement. He replied he could not explain.

The court told him he should be more mature than sending messages through the young girl and asked him why he had hit the door.

He said that when he sent the children back to tell their mother he could only keep them until 2 p.m. their mother locked them out and they began to cry, which enraged him.

In submissions on punishment, lawyer John Vassallo, appearing for the woman, said he was beginning to question the man's mental stability because he could just not control himself. There had been many other similar incidents, he added.

Defence counsel Cedric Mifsud said the court should bear in mind that it was not completely his client's fault and that the blame should be shared.

In handing down judgment, the magistrate said she did not believe the man's version of events. Also taking into consideration the fact that he had already breached bail conditions once before, she jailed the man for a month.

The couple's names are not being published to protect the identity of the children.