A 33-year-old man yesterday pleaded not guilty to causing slight injuries to his wife in Birżebbuġa during an argument over the custody of their children.

The man, who cannot be named by court order in order to protect the identities of his three children, pleaded not guilty to slightly injuring his wife on Thursday.

Magistrate Audrey Demicoli heard that the man had called to see his children who live with their mother in Birżebbuġa. An argument broke out between the couple and the man's wife was slightly injured.

Defence lawyer David Gatt pleaded that his client did not need to be arraigned under arrest. There were no court restrictions on the man about visits to the children, and, therefore, it was not illegal for him to go and see them.

Police Inspector Priscilla Caruana told the court the man had been annoying his wife quite regularly by sending her SMS messages and had even entered their home through a window to see the children.

On evaluating the circumstances of the case, the magistrate ruled that the man's state of arrest was unjustified.

The case continues.