The father of twin boys has denied that his sons were burnt with cigarettes while in his custody, as alleged by their mother.

Joseph Grixti is claiming that the boys, who are six years old, told him they sustained their injuries when coal squirted out of a barbecue during a party at their mother’s house.

On Wednesday The Times published the story of Suzanne Formosa, who claimed that on August 25 her sons returned home with cigarette burns on their fingers, back, legs and tummy.

She filed a police report the day after and police took a statement by the boys, who told them what had happened when they were in their father’s custody and identified the man who caused their burns (who was not the father).

The Times saw a copy of the police report in which the boys’ version was quoted by the officer.

Ms Formosa complained that no criminal action had been taken against the alleged perpetrator.

The police said they were investigating the case and that the lack of action so far was due to “certain inconsistencies” in the children’s version of events.

Mr Grixti yesterday insisted that he loves his sons and would never allow anyone to harm them.

He said they had told him they got burnt accidentally during a barbecue and he had recorded their version and handed it over to police.

Mr Grixti said he did not like his former partner going to the media and exposed her identity since, that way, she put the boys in the public eye.

He added that Ms Formosa had filed an application in the Family Court to stop the boys visiting him.

The Family Court heard all the evidence linked to the burn allegations – including the testimony of the police – and found there was no evidence to support them. He retained access to his children, who were with him yesterday when he spoke to The Times.

The boys played a few metres away from where the interview was held. At one point Mr Grixti asked one of the boys to say how he sustained an injury to his finger.

Replying matter-of-factly, the boy first said it was a cigarette burn. He then corrected himself and said he was hurt with the charcoal and, after reflecting a bit more, he “remembered” he had grazed his finger when he fell.

Mind games for children

Children who go through the separation of their mother and father usually get stuck in loyalty binds with both parents, psychologist Roberta Zahra de Domenico said.

They would not want to upset their parents and would prefer to go along with what their parents tell them for fear that, should they not do so, the parent would get upset with them, she said speaking in general terms.

In some cases parents tested the children’s loyalty by implicitly or explicitly asking them to side with one against the other.

“This puts the children in a bind as they wouldn’t want to lie about certain circumstances but, at the same time, they would refrain from giving the exact details of a particular incident.

“This can have a detrimental effect on the children as they would be caught in a situation where they would have to go against a parent against their will.

“Children love both their parents, whatever the circumstances of the separation, and parents need to understand and support this, rather than feel threatened by it,” she said.