A furniture sprayer from Zebbuġ has been remanded in custody after pleading not guilty to seriously injuring his wife early yesterday morning.

The 50-year old was charged today with having injured the woman, with having insulted and threatened her, breaching the peace and also with being a relapser.

Magistrate Neville Camilleri was presented with a medical certificate issued by the Emergency Department at Mater Dei attesting that the victim had suffered an injury to her nose.

The prosecution strongly objected to the request for bail pointing out that the violence had broken out in front of foster parents who had been entrusted with the care of the couple's three children. This meant that the accused could possibly approach these witnesses if bail were to be granted as he had done on another occasion. Besides, there were also a number of witnesses, including the alleged victim, who were still to testify.

Moreover, the prosecution argued that this was not the first instance of violence since the man had confessed that he had beaten his wife "when drunk," in the past. However, the woman had forgiven his wrongdoing.

The defence lawyer countered that the victim, who was present during the arraignment, did not appear to carry any visible signs of her ordeal. Moreover, apart from the charge for grievous bodily harm, the other charges related to less serious contraventions.

The court, in view of the charge of grievous bodily harm and the fact that the man was a relapser, denied bail. The prosecution was urged to present all its evidence at the first hearing so that the presiding magistrate might reconsider the request for bail.

Inspector Roderick Agius prosecuted.

Lawyer Patrick Valentino was defence counsel.