Assault with toilet plunger lands man in court

A 19-year-old father of two has been released on bail this afternoon, after pleading not guilty to hitting his partner with a toilet plunger.

The accused, from Cospicua, is the father of two young children aged 18 months and four months, by his partner who is six years his senior, was arrested last Saturday after repeated episodes of violence.

The woman had called the police and had filed a criminal complaint against her partner of three years.

The 19-year-old man was arraigned before Magistrate Aaron Bugeja on Monday, accused of having caused the woman to fear violence and causing her slight injuries.

Prosecuting Inspector Eman Hayman explained that the two had argued whilst the woman had been talking to her mother on the phone, when the man had allegedly challenged the two women to face him “so that he might stab them.”

Later that evening, the pair had disagreed on where to take out the children and in the resulting argument, the man had allegedly hit his partner with the plunger.

The victim had told the police, that she had been living in fear of her partner for the past 11 months, but had been too intimidated to file a report.

Defence lawyer Anthony Stellini contended that the woman’s mother had interfered with the couple. He argued that there was still a “glimmer of hope” of reconciliation, which would be extinguished if the man were to be remanded in custody.

The defence’s request for bail was upheld after the court was told that the man would live separately from the victim and that a relative was willing to step in as third party guarantor.

Bail was granted against a third party guarantee of €5,000, with the man being ordered to sign a bail book twice a week and keep away from Cospicua. A Protection Order prohibiting the man from approaching the alleged victim in any manner was also issued.