A 24-year-old man who admitted to regularly assaulting and threatening his mother in their Mosta home has been placed on probation.

Magistrate Charmaine Galea heard how the young man had a drug addiction problem and how the situation with his mother, who had social issues and mental health problems, escalated to the point that she had to call in the police.

The man, from St Julians, admitted to regularly threatening and assaulting his mother and causing her to fear him on and before February 12. He was also charged with relapsing.

The man’s lawyers, Jose Herrara and Matthew Xuereb, told Magistrate Charmaine Galea that there had been an informal plea bargain struck with the prosecution.

Both sides agreed that the man be granted a probation order and that he be given a treatment order to address his drug addiction problem. The young man had a drug problem and his mother had social problems that included mental health issues, they said.

Police Inspector Omar Zammit, prosecuting, said this was “more of a social case than a criminal case.”

“There was an argument between mother and son that escalated to the extent that, this time, she had no choice but to file the police report,” he said.

The magistrate informed the man that, if he pleaded guilty, he faced up to two years imprisonment and a fine up to €15,000. The court could also opt for a probation order, she said as she asked him to reconsider his guilty plea – which he insisted on.

The magistrate ordered a ban on the name of the man, to protect the mother. She put the man on probation for three years, and issued a treatment order for him to address his drug problem. She also issued a restraining order prohibiting him from speaking to or approaching his mother, unless she allowed it.

According to data revealed in Parliament some weeks ago, since 2021 some 568 domestic violence reports have been filed by parents about their children. The reports involved 630 people, 325 of whom were over 60. Court action was taken when the reports were backed by evidence, with 461 cases having been instituted.

Last week Ann Marie Ciantar, Service Manager at the Domestic Violence Service at Appoġġ, explained that adult child-to-parent abuse remained underreported.

Most cases of abuse were physical, financial and psychological. In most cases the perpetrators were still dependent on their elderly parents. Some had substance abuse problems and others had mental health issues.

Lawyer Alfred Abela represented the mother.