The father of a young mother at the centre of a violent fight at Żabbar last Sunday afternoon was granted bail after he pleaded not guilty to threatening police officers with a metal bar.

The 46-year-old Vittoriosa resident, living on social benefits, was arraigned on Thursday afternoon over his alleged involvement in the brawl, after having been discharged from hospital where he was being treated for a medical condition, triggered by Sunday’s incident.

Prosecuting Inspector Joanna Piscopo charged the man with the attempted grievous bodily harm of a police sergeant, threatening the officer as well as disobeying police orders and breaching the peace.

The man had apparently rushed to his daughter’s assistance after a call from the latter saying that she had been assaulted by her estranged partner when she called at his Żabbar residence to collect their four-year-old son.

At the time of the alleged aggression, the 25-year-old woman had been accompanied by her mother and another child fathered by another partner, a 20-year-old from Cospicua.

The latter had also rushed to the scene of the fight upon getting a call from the woman and had lost his temper upon catching sight of his terrified child who had witnessed the whole scene.

The woman, who ended up suffering fractures to her hand, accompanied her father outside the courtroom on Thursday with her arm in a sling. Both of her estranged partners had been arraigned separately in court on Monday.

The woman’s father pleaded not guilty and was granted bail against a deposit of €500, a personal guarantee of €3,000, and an order to sign the bail book once a week and to abide by a curfew.

The court, presided over by magistrate Astrid May Grima, took note of the fact that the man had cooperated with the police and had already been granted police bail before his arraignment.

Inspector Joanna Piscopo prosecuted. Lawyer Albert Zerafa was defence counsel.