A father and his son were both remanded in custody after being charged with threatening and slightly injuring a woman whom the son was prostituting.

Magistrate Francesco Depasquale heard how Christian Cucciardi, 31, who has no fixed address, was in a relationship with the victim for seven years before breaking up four months ago.

He stands charged with forcing the woman into a life of prostitution as well as, together with his 51-year-old father Saviour, living off the earnings of prostitution and threatening, insulting and slightly injuring the victim.

Prosecuting officers John Spiteri and Paula Ciantar argued that bail should not be granted, especially since the son lived in a Zebbug farmhouse, the precise location of which was not clear.

"The case is of a rather serious nature - it's not normal for us to arrest people who have committed such crimes because the victims are generally very afraid of reporting the people who employ them. There is a lot of fear in connection with such cases," Insp. Buhagiar said.

Lawyers Paul Borg and Clint Tabone argued that bail should be granted, especially in view of the fact that the two men had fully cooperated with the police and that the victim had been chasing them.

Since the victim's testimony was crucial, the court turned down the request for bail and they were remanded in custody.