A man who allegedly threatened to “smash” his ex-partner’s teeth and blow her up, was denied bail after pleading not guilty upon his arraignment on Monday.

Larkin Scicluna, 28 of Żebbuġ, was arrested and taken to court hours after he allegedly damaged the woman’s vehicle with a car jack at around 1am on Monday.

In a statement to police during questioning, he complained that she had taken his mobile, containing a record of their chats, and was refusing to hand it back, the court was told.

“Tell her not to ever look at me again or I’ll smash her teeth,” the man had reportedly told police.

Mr Scicluna was accused of causing wilful damage to his ex’s car, causing her to fear violence, threatening her and breaching the peace. He was further charged with driving without a licence and insurance cover, as well as breaching bail conditions.

Prosecuting Inspector Alfredo Mangion explained that Mr Scicluna had been constantly threatening the woman after their two-year relationship ended.

He had apparently been insisting on taking back gifts he had given her, and the situation escalated to such extent that Appoġġ has described it as ‘high risk.’

Defence lawyer Kathleen Calleja Grima rebutted that the assessment was carried out without the alleged aggressor’s version being sought.

In this particular case, the man wanted his mobile, which contained chats which he could use to prove his point with the police, Dr Calleja Grima argued.

“They’re no longer there now. Probably deleted,” Mr Scicluna promptly remarked from the dock.  

A request for bail was objected to by the prosecution who argued that there was no guarantee that he’ll leave the lady in peace. He has even ignored bail conditions in a separate case, it was claimed. 

Magistrate Gabriella Vella denied bail in view of certain threats made by the accused in his police statement and also because the court was not convinced of the trustworthiness of the man as to merit bail at this stage