A mother ended up with slight injuries while her son ended up behind bars under preventive arrest following his arraignment over the alleged violence.
The 23-year old man from Żurrieq, who had only recently been employed with a local air conditioning supplier, pleaded not guilty to having inflicted slight injuries upon his mother and causing her to fear violence in the preceding months.
The man was further charged with being a recidivist.
“The accused's brother, who wishes to remain neutral, told me that it was a senseless argument which caused all this,” defence counsel Martha Mifsud started off, adding that the brother had also said that both his mother and the accused "were victims."
Insisting that her client was innocent until proved guilty and that denying him bail would likely cost him his job, Dr Mifsud concluded by saying that the young man was no hardened criminal and that she did not wish him to "end up on the wrong track".
However, prosecuting Inspector Roderick Attard drew the court’s attention to a past conviction of the man over a case of bribery of a public officer.
Parte civile lawyer Stephanie Caruana also butted in stating that the mother "had been going through hell since he was 18 years of age," adding that after the alleged episode the victim had twice required treatment at a health centre.
After the incident, the mother had been discovered in a bad state.
After hearing these submissions, duty magistrate Doreen Clarke turned down the request for bail in view of the circumstances of the case and remanded the man in custody.