Court sends drug addict for treatment after he assaulted his mother

A 25-year-old man was handed a suspended sentence after he was found guilty of slightly injuring his mother in an incident in which he was demanding money to fund his drug addiction.

The man appeared before a court in Gozo and was accused of assaulting and throwing hard objects at his mother, being in possession of cocaine, causing his parents fear that violence would be used against them and breaching a treatment order.

The incident happened at their family home in Xewkija on December 8, 2025. The woman had been asleep when she was woken up by the accused at about 1am. He demanded money so that he could buy drugs. The woman refused after having given money a day earlier.

The man then grabbed her by the neck and pressed it. He stopped for some time and asked for money once again. The woman went to the kitchen, with the accused following her. He continued demanding money, and when she continued to refuse, he pushed her and she hit her side against the kitchen counter.

The commotion woke up his father, who intervened as the accused threw objects in his mother’s direction and his father attempted to block them.

It was then that the woman called the police, requesting help and the accused fled the scene. He was eventually found in a car and arrested.

During a search, the police found him in possession of a sachet containing 0.49g of cocaine.

The court observed that this was not the first incident that the accused had had with his parents, in particular his mother and he had previously assaulted his parents for drug money.

In his statement to the police, the man acknowledged that he had an acute drug problem and frequently demanded money from his parents to sustain the habit.

In its considerations on punishment, the court held that this was a very serious case because the accused assaulted his mother for refusing to fund his habit.

“This is condemnable behaviour which is no way justified,” the court said, adding that the man was overcome by his drug addiction.

It also took into consideration the testimony of a Probation Officer, who explained that the accused had a period of stability in his life but was overcome once again by his drug addiction.

The accused had tried to turn his life around, but he would give up, deeming his situation a “lost battle” and lose his motivation.

The witness said that the accused should be more self-disciplined and if given the opportunity he should go to rehab.

The court made it clear that it would issue the necessary orders to protect the victims, and this was his last chance to turn his life around, since there still was some hope that he would crawl out from the abyss and work on himself together with professionals in the field.

The man was handed a 13-month prison term suspended for four years. He was fined €75. The court imposed a three-year treatment order on the accused, and issued a three-year restraining order in favour of the man’s parents.

Magistrate Jean Paul Grech presided over the Court of Magistrates in Gozo. Police inspector Josef Gauci prosecuted.