A man who allegedly terrified his estranged wife by turning up outside her home and workplace was granted bail under strict orders of steering clear of the woman.
The 41-year-old man, whose name cannot be published by court order, was charged with stalking and harassing his estranged wife in breach of a protection order.
Prosecuting inspector Sarah Zerafa had arrested the man after his wife had reported at the local police station that he had turned up outside her home, filming on his mobile.
Later he had allegedly followed her as she headed towards the police station to file a report.
However, defence lawyer Carm Mifsud Bonnici promptly contested the validity of the first charge, stressing that “one could not arrest a person just because someone claimed to be afraid of him. The first charge had to be substantiated.”
Inspector Zerafa retorted that the woman was “very scared of him” and had filed a report because of this. “This is why I arrested him, she says he’s outside her house or her workplace every day.”
Moreover, social workers from Appoġġ had assessed the case as one of “high risk,” the prosecution went on.
However, the defence lawyer insisted that this had been a one-off incident for which his client had provided a reasonable explanation to the police.
“While we wait for the alleged victim to testify, this man cannot be kept under arrest,” Dr Mifsud Bonnici argued, adding that the court could impose adequate restrictions accordingly.
“In fact, we are not objecting to bail as long as there is an express prohibition to keep him away from his estranged wife,” the Inspector replied.
In the light of these submissions, the court, presided over by magistrate Nadine Lia, granted the man bail against a deposit of €500, a personal guarantee of €3,000, a strict order not to approach the woman’s home or workplace and an order to sign the bail book once a week.
The court finally issued a temporary protection order in favour of the woman.
Lawyers Stephanie Caruana and Rebecca Muscat appeared parte civile.