Three brothers guilty of attack on brother-in-law

Three brothers attacked their pregnant sister's husband by mistake when he turned up in hospital, thinking he was there to persuade her to drop a domestic violence case against him.

In fact, he had only gone to visit his grandmother, a court heard yesterday before convicting the brothers, for injuring their brother-in-law and members of his family in the attack.

The incident took place at St Luke's Hospital on February 10, 2003. The three brothers were there to visit their sister who had been beaten up while seven months pregnant by her husband, Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani noted in her judgment.

The brothers walked into the canteen and spotted their brother-in-law and members of his family. They walked over to the family to ask them why they were there and an argument flared up between the two families. In the ensuing fight, one of the brothers, 32, inflicted lacerations to the victim's scalp and another brother, 33, punched him.

Two members of the victim's family also suffered slight injuries when one of the brothers, who was 15 at the time of the incident, used a pen knife against them.

The magistrate said the vulnerability of the woman and her unborn baby, in view of the wounds that had been inflicted by her husband, as well as the massive presence of the husband's family had all contributed to making the brothers believe there was a serious threat to the mother and child.

Still, she found one of the brothers guilty of slightly injuring the victim and extended a previous suspended jail term.

Another brother was found guilty of seriously injuring the victim and the court handed down a one year prison term suspended for two years.

The third brother was found guilty of slightly injuring the victim and two members of his family and was given a six-month jail term suspended for two years.

Lawyers Roberto Montalto, Gianella Caruana Curran and Edward Gatt appeared for the three brothers.

Names are not being used to protect the woman's privacy.