A former alcoholic has been given a suspended jail sentence after admitting to beating his three young sons.
Alfred Theuma, 48 of Santa Venera, was handed a one year jail term suspended for three years after he admitted in court to having beaten and injured his three sons.
The accused also admitted to having made his three young sons work in a quarry during the summer.
The court regretted that for some people, discipline meant physical punishment. It added that the man clearly loved his children and meant to discipline them, not hurt them.
Rather than a jail term, the accused needed to be helped. It therefore recommended that he attend therapy.
The children were placed under a care order.