Updated 4pm

A man who caused a high-speed crash while fleeing the police assaulted his girlfriend in public just hours earlier, a court heard on Tuesday.

Melvin Debono, 33, was seen on CCTV cameras at a Żurrieq bar assaulting his girlfriend at around 11pm and then getting into a fight with some other bar patrons. He was meant to be home at the time under the terms of a court-impose curfew, a prosecutor said.  

Debono, a known figure to the police whose nickname is il-Quws, faces around 15 different criminal charges in connection with the weekend incident, ranging from causing slight injuries to his partner and causing her to fear violence, reckless driving, disobeying police orders, and breaching five sets of bail conditions.

He pleaded not guilty when arraigned on Tuesday.

Prosecutors also charged him with breaching a court-imposed probation order handed down to him by a court just last week.

The incident which led to Debono’s most recent legal trouble began at around 1am on Sunday morning, when police received a call about a fight in Żurrieq.

When officers approached the area, they recognised Debono’s BMW.  They could not see who was inside it, as the windows were tinted. But knowing that Debono was forbidden from being outside after 6pm, the officers sought to stop the vehicle.

However, the car sped off and a high-speed chase ensued. The chase was cut short after the police Rapid Intervention Unit vehicle crashed into another vehicle in Tarxien. The BMW drove off. Two officers inside the RIU vehicle as well as the driver of the other vehicle were all treated in hospital for injuries.  

Police inspector Mark Mercieca was informed about the botched chase on Sunday morning. He told the court he spoke to two other inspectors who were prosecuting Debono in other cases.

Mercieca asked Debono to report to the police headquarters at 11am. Debono turned up in his BMW and told the police that his girlfriend was driving the car the previous night.

When asked for CCTV footage from his house to prove that, he told officers that his cameras were malfunctioning and deleting footage every two hours.

Debono’s girlfriend told police officers that she and Debono had argued the previous evening in Żurrieq and that she had subsequently driven away. She said she had no knowledge of any police chase.

Geolocation data from Debono’s phone showed he was in Żurrieq the previous night, then in Vittoriosa at 3.30am – a sign that he was in breach of his curfew, the inspector testified.

And when police obtained CCTV footage from a football club bar in Żurrieq, they saw Debono at the club at 11pm, drinking with his girlfriend. The two then argued, Debono assaulted her and third parties were injured during the fight, the court heard.

Under cross-examination from defence lawyer Franco Debono, the prosecution confirmed that the accused had gone to the police voluntarily and that his girlfriend had not filed any reports against him.

Debono asked the court to grant his client bail, insisting that he is presumed innocent until proven guilt. Prosecutors objected, noting the accused’s lengthy criminal record and his breach of curfew.  

Magistrate Elaine Rizzo denied the bail request and issued a protection order in his girlfriend’s favour, prompting the defendant to protest that “I didn't fight with her or anything".

The court ordered him to remain silent and warned him not to make any contact with the woman.

Debono, who just last week received a probation order and €2,500 fine for having breached a court-imposed curfew, was remanded in custody.

Inspectors Mark Anthony Mercieca, Jeffrey Scicluna Briffa, John Leigh Howard, and Kurt Farrugia prosecuted.

Lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Adreana Zammit were counsel for the defence.