A mother-of-two who forgave her husband after reporting him to the police over a violent incident was ordered by the court not to meet up with him unless in the presence of third parties, for the time being and for her own good.

The woman took the witness stand when her husband, a 36-year-old Żurrieq man was arraigned under arrest on Tuesday, following the incident which she described as a “one-off” during the couple’s 13-year marriage.

The man was charged with causing his wife to fear violence, as well as insulting and threatening her during the domestic scene that took place at around 6.15pm on September 2.

He registered an admission.

Asked to explain what had triggered that bout of violence, the woman said that the accused, a glass worker, did not like to go out much.

On that occasion, he did not object when his wife made plans to go out with her sister and the kids. 

However, he subsequently changed his mind and his behaviour frightened her to such an extent that she filed a report to the police.

“But now things seem to be settling down. It was a one-off incident,” she said, insisting that she wished to start off a reconciliatory process.

“I just hope that there won’t be a repeat,” said the witness.

Pending their reconciliation, her husband was to live at his parents’ home and seek help to tackle his anger management problem, the court was told. 

Upon a request by the accused’s lawyer, the court, presided over by magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit, ordered the drawing up of a pre-sentencing report to address his personal problems while the couple mended their relationship. 

“Will you accept to abide by the terms of a treatment order whereby you would be assessed by a psychotherapist,” asked the court.

“Yes,” came the reply. 

The court also upheld a request for bail pending judgment, ordering the accused to make sure that he “address his wife properly, as she deserved”, while working on their reconciliation.

The magistrate momentarily interrupted the reading out of bail conditions, remarking that the accused’s attitude did not seem to be “so convincing”.

Although the wife’s lawyer pointed out that his client was determined to “start reconciliation”, the magistrate stressed that she wanted to make sure that there would be no repetition.

For this reason, the court introduced another condition whereby the couple were to meet only in the presence of third parties, not alone.

“It’s for your own good,” said the magistrate, addressing the wife who promised to abide by that order. 

The accused was also ordered to sign the bail book three times weekly, not to go out between midnight and 5am and to bind himself under a personal guarantee of €20,000.

The court also issued a treatment order in terms of which a probation officer would report back to the court about his progress on a monthly basis. 

Inspector Omar Zammit prosecuted. Lawyer Yanika Bugeja was defence counsel. Lawyer Lennox Vella appeared parte civile.