A man was on Saturday accused of threatening his wife and threatening to kidnap their children so she "would never see them again". 

The Libyan national, 42, from Santa Venera, denied the charges. 

Police inspector Audrey Micallef said the couple have two girls aged seven and nine. The estranged wife has custody over the children, whom the father sees twice a week under supervision by Appoġġ, the state welfare agency. 

She said there was an entire day of WhatsApp messages with threats, among which that he was going to "burn her blood" and that he would kidnap the children so she "would never see them again". 

Lawyers Mario Mifsud and Matthew Xuereb said these incidents between their client and his estranged wife were "constant", including during proceedings before the Family Court. 

The prosecution objected to the request for bail. She said there were already domestic violence convictions on his criminal record.

Magistrate Victor Axiaq questioned why no temporary protection order had been sought if the exchange had taken place almost a week ago. 

He proceeded to grant the accused bail against a €500 deposit and a €10,000 personal guarantee. He also ordered him to sign the bail book once a week. 

The court also issued a protection order in favour of the man's estranged wife and the two children.