A man who stood accused of beating his girlfriend and threatening her with a pistol has been cleared of charges after his alleged victim told the court she no longer wanted to testify against him.

The 33-year-old, whose name has been banned from publication, was charged last month with having slightly injured his girlfriend, threatening her and breaching conditions in several pending, separate criminal cases he faces.

Prosecutors alleged that he had dragged his girlfriend into a car, driven her to a remote location and then beat her with his fist and a pistol. He also allegedly fired the pistol into the air. The police were unable to track down that gun. 

The accused was well-known to police officers and faces a raft of charges in unrelated cases, ranging from threatening police officers to arson and drug trafficking.

When he was arraigned over his altercation with this girlfriend last month, his alleged victim told the court she no longer wanted to press charges against him, because he loved her and she did not want him to end up in jail.

The magistrate, however, ruled that the case should go ahead nonetheless.

When the case resumed on December 30 before a different magistrate, the man’s girlfriend testified for a second time and reiterated her wish for the charges to be dropped.

She insisted on that even when the court offered to give her a few days’ time to reflect on the decision.

The court, presided by Magistrate Abigail Critien, decided to uphold her request, noting that the victim had insisted she was not being coerced or facing pressure to drop charges and that she had declined the offer of a few days to reconsider her position. 

As a result, the case was dismissed.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Adreana Zammit appeared on behalf of the defence. Lawyer Charles Merceica appeared on the victim’s behalf.