The man currently facing proceedings for allegedly abducting his estranged wife and subjecting her to a three-day ordeal in an underground chamber beneath Fort Ricasoli has been jailed nine months besides and had €63,000 forfeited for breaching bail.

Seychelles-born Roddie Swinton Williams, 38, had been granted bail pending compilation proceedings for attempted murder, placing his victim’s life in manifest danger, violently engaging in sexual acts and a number of other charges related to the episode which took place in October 2017.

He was also accused of abducting his ex-wife and holding her against her will, regaining his personal freedom against an original bail bond of €80,000 which was later reduced, in line with case-law on the subject, to €63,000.

Yet the man soon landed once again on the wrong side of the law after failing to keep his daily appointment with the bail book, last turning up to sign on February 19.

He was tracked down earlier in May and arrested in a Qormi garage that was targeted during a drug raid. He was taken to court and charged with repeatedly breaching bail conditions.

READ: 'I felt trapped like a mouse'

Delivering judgement, the court, presided over by magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, observed it was “readily evident” from his criminal record “that the accused, besides not being a first-time offender, appears to have difficulty observing and abiding by court orders”.

Upon the accused’s own admission relatively early in the proceedings, the court declared him guilty and observed that the conviction made forfeiture of the bail bond a mandatory consequence.

For this reason, besides condemning the accused to a nine-month jail term, the court also ordered forfeiture of the €3,000 deposit and €60,000 personal guarantee as well as the accused’s “immediate re-arrest”.

Superintendent Josric Mifsud prosecuted.

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