A dad did not have the criminal intent to injure his three-month-old son when he grabbed his arm to prevent him falling to the ground, fracturing it in the process.

A court ruled that Jonathan Calleja, 29, from Senglea, did not have the intention required by law to be found guilty.

Magistrate Antonio Mizzi said that although what happened showed lack of experience in bringing up children, he could never be convicted of ill-treating his child, who was well-dressed and well-fed.

The incident happened on April 27, 2007, when Mr Calleja was babysitting his son while the mother had left home to return some DVDs she had borrowed.

The baby was crying and she told Mr Calleja to leave him in bed until she returned.

The boy’s constant crying frustrated the man, so he picked him up and started playing with him. Mr Calleja was throwing him up in the air to stop him crying but the baby slipped and as he tried to grab him, he pulled him by his left arm.

The crying continued. Mr Calleja did not notice anything had happened to his son and neither did he tell the mother when she returned home.

The next day, as she was giving the boy a bath, the mother noticed the baby had bruising on his face and arm and was not moving his left arm.

She took him to the doctor and was referred to hospital, where an X-ray showed his arm was broken. The doctors referred the case to the police since they suspected ill-treatment.

Nearly five years later, Magistrate Mizzi ruled that the baby was healthy, that the fracture did not cause any long-term damage or disability and that apart from this incident there were no reports of cruelty or ill-treatment.

He ruled there was no criminal intent by Mr Calleja to harm his son and cleared him.

Police Inspectors Raymond Aquilina and Anthony Cassar prosecuted while lawyer Edward Gatt appeared for the accused.