A man who allegedly beat his partner following suspicions that she had hacked his mobile phone, was remanded in custody on Monday. 

Simon Gordon Hegarty, a 40-year-old Mosta resident, was escorted to court after having been arrested over the incident that allegedly took place in the early hours of Saturday. 

Court heard how the couple started arguing inside a car. The man allegedly punched his partner in the face and pulled out tufts of hair from several places. 

He later told police that his partner had allegedly hacked his mobile phone while he was abroad. He also appeared to harbour other suspicions in her regard. 

Upon arraignment on Monday, Hegarty pleaded not guilty to wilfully inflicting grievous injury upon the alleged victim, causing her to fear violence as well as relapse. 

A request for bail was objected to by prosecuting inspector Sherona Buhagiar who highlighted the gravity of the charges, which carried a maximum jail term of 10 years.

The victim herself was still to testify, and thus the fear of tampering with evidence was real, the inspector argued. 

Lawyer Franco Debono, representing the alleged victim in the proceedings, explained that images of the woman indicated facial injuries that were “not at all pleasant”.

His client did not want any sort of contact with the accused, added Debono. 

After hearing submissions, the court, presided over by Magistrate Astrid May Grima, turned down the request for bail in view of the serious nature of the case and the fact that civilian witnesses were still to testify. 

The court upheld the prosecution’s request for a protection order in favour of the alleged victim and also issued a ban on the woman’s name. 

A similar ban sought for the accused was, however, turned down. 

Lawyer Joseph Bonnici was defence counsel. Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri appeared parte civile.