A 29-year-old engineer was remanded in custody on Thursday after a court heard how his wife reported him for allegedly committing violence against her.

The accused, an Indian national living in Rabat, was arraigned before Magistrate Astrid May Grima, accused of having committed violence against his wife as well as insulting her.

Police inspector Sherona Buhagiar told the court that the victim’s wife had called at the domestic violence unit to report the man, to whom she had been married for four years and shared a 7-month old child with.

The woman told police that an argument had broken out and that he started to insult her, shouting at her and grabbing her hair while hitting her on the head. He also allegedly hit her on the face, grabbed her by the neck and punched him in the stomach.

She said she fought back as the alleged attack continued.

Buhagiar said the woman did not provide a medical certificate to certify her injuries.

Objecting to a request for bail, the prosecution said that while the parties did not live together any more, there was still a risk that the accused could try to approach the woman, which gave rise to fear of tampering with evidence. A risk assessment of the alleged victim had also found that she was in “extreme danger”.

The defence argued that the fear of tampering with evidence could be assuaged if appropriate measures, such as a protection order, were imposed on the accused. Ultimately, the accused was facing two charges that amounted to contraventions and he was a stable person with a place to live, a full-time career and a clean criminal conduct. It would therefore not be appropriate to keep him in detention.

The bail request was denied and the man was remanded in custody.

Police Inspector Sherona Buhagiar prosecuted. Lawyer Martin Farrugia appeared for the accused as legal aid.