The father of an 11-year-old-boy today pleaded not guilty to accusations of child cruelty against his son, and was subsequently released on bail.

Episodes of alleged cruelty against the child came to light after he opened up to a guidance teacher at school over a two-year period. The teacher then informed the police who opened investigations. It was stressed that there were no allegations of sexual abuse, however the boy had told his teacher that at times his father would act aggressively towards him, at times pinning him down and even preventing the boy from breathing by covering his mouth until he panicked.

The courts heard how medical evidence indicated that the boy had nearly suffocated. The evidence was then submitted by prosecuting Inspector Joseph Busuttil.

Neither the accused nor the victim can be named in order to protect the identity of the victim. The accused could be heard telling the courts that he had been involved in a rough separation with the boy’s mother for 10 years.

On one occasion, the police had been informed that the accused threw his son’s bag out of his car window. It was claimed that the accused did so because he was told off by his son for using his mobile phone while driving. It was also said that on one particular day, the son was purposely locked out on the balcony.

The inspector also said that allegedly the father even held his son down and licked his face and belly, causing him so much distress that he even vomited.

Inspector Busuttil spoke of how such episodes could be perceived as being “aggressive games”, but also stressed that the child was scared of having to face his father. The prosecution objected to bail until the minor could be summoned to testify.

On the other hand, the accused insisted that his son had been brainwashed by his scorned mother. It had transpired however that when the mother was questioned on what was going on, she was not aware of any of the incidents.

Defence lawyer David Farrugia Sacco entered a plea of not guilty for the accused and requested bail. He confirmed that the accused had been in separation proceedings of 10 years and did not see eye to eye with the mother. He also confirmed that the relationship between the pair was not a pleasant one, adding that there had not been any real aggression between them however.

Dr Farrugia Sacco pointed out that the police had been notified by Appogg and not the mother. He acknowledged that had he been working for Appogg, he too would have passed on the report to the police as it was made out of fear, and the reports could be linked to sexual abuse. He stressed however that even the inspector was not alleging sexual abuse took place.

The lawyer said he didn’t want to play down the “energetic exchanges”, but the request for bail had to be seen in context.

“In no way is the mother going to let the father see the child if he is granted bail because their relationship had disintegrated to that extent,” said Dr Farrugia Sacco. As soon as the mother is informed of what happened, he expects her to file a court application to block his access to the son.

Despite prosecution’s objections, the court granted the man bail against a deposit of €500 and a personal guarantee of €5000, on condition that he keep his distance from and not speak to  prosecution witnesses. He was also ordered to sign a bail book daily.

A protection order in favour of the son was also issued.