Mother and son guilty of assaulting foreigner

Mother and son Rosalina and Ian Xuereb were handed down a four-year, suspended sentence and placed under a supervision order, after being found guilty of injuring Ftsum Sbhatu, an Eritrean national, in October 2012.

Sbhatu had filed a police report on 18 October 2012 saying that Rosalina Xuereb, 44, was soliciting for sexual favours on the Valletta bus terminus, and after having agreed to her offer and taken to Piazza Luigi Preziosi, in Floriana, was assaulted by her son Ian Xuereb, 26.

He accused Xuereb of stealing his mobile phone and €130, and then led police to the apartment in which he had seen the mother and son entering.

Sbhatu was assisted by an AFM soldier in filing a police report, being unable to communicate except in broken English and using gestures. The police had to force their way into the accused's apartment after the couple refused to open the door, claiming they had not heard the police knocking.

In court, Sbhatu amended his version, saying that the woman had asked him to borrow his phone, after which he was assaulted by her son.

Roslina Xuereb herself alleged that she was followed by four 'Arabs' and that her son had fought off an aggressor.

Magistrate Edwina Grima eventually found the Xuerebs guilty of aggravated theft, and Ian Xuereb guilty of slightly injuring Ftsum Sbhatu and relapsing. Given that both mother and son had serious drug dependency issues, Magistrate Grima handed them a four-year suspended jail term and placed them under a supervision order for the same timeframe. The court urged both the accused to seek help to kick their habit.