A man who apparently could not come to terms with his relationship break up ended up in court on Tuesday after harassing and violently threatening his former partner.
The 33-year-old man from Birkirkara refused to take no for an answer when his partner decided to call it a day, breaking off their relationship last week.
On Sunday, the man had called the woman who refused to give away her whereabouts.
However, he stormed to St Paul’s Bay, his former partner’s hometown, and kicked up some commotion after coming across the woman at the local boċċi club, allegedly threatening to “run over her” and kill her.
The man was arrested and taken to court on Tuesday, pleading not guilty to harassing the woman and causing her to fear violence.
Prosecuting Inspector Paula Ciantar stressed that if the court were to grant bail, it ought to impose stringent conditions to make sure that the accused would not in any way approach his alleged victim, nor lay foot at the places where she lived and worked.
The court, presided over by magistrate Joseph Mifsud, observed that in such cases of domestic violence, the prosecution was to put forward sound evidence, including the testimony of the victim “who was to ultimately face the proceedings”.
Fear and psychological suffering were more difficult to prove than “scratches or bruises,” remarked the court, noting that much depended on the assessment of the witness when testifying in court.
After hearing submissions by both parties the court upheld the request for bail against a deposit of €500, a personal guarantee of €10,000, a curfew between 10pm and 5am and an order to sign the bail book once a week.
The court also issued a protection order in favour of the woman, warning the alleged aggressor that breach of court orders could land him with a maximum fine of €7,000 and a maximum jail term of two years.
“You must stop. Whatever happened, the relationship is now over,” warned the magistrate, interrupted at intervals by the accused who piped up repeatedly, asking questions about his bail conditions, constantly being hushed up by both his lawyer and the prosecuting inspector.
Lawyer Christopher Chircop was legal aid counsel.