A 36-year-old man from Cospicua, Alfred Bonnici, was arraigned in court on New Year's Day on charges of domestic violence against his parents, after allegedly threatening them to obtain money.

The prosecution said that Bonnici had been released from prison just ten days earlier and that on Christmas morning his parents reported him to the police after he began threatening them to give him money. They told the court they did not even know how much money they had given him during the ten days he had been out of prison.

Bonnici pleaded not guilty to the charges and was described as a recidivist. 

The defence did not request bail, noting that Bonnici lives in the same residence as his parents. Magistrate Leonard Caruana urged the accused to help himself and change his life, and ordered that he be remanded in custody.

The prosecution was led by Inspector Colin Sheldon. Legal aid lawyer Sarah Ciliberti appeared for the accused.