An intellectually disabled woman spent the past nine years locked up in her bedroom with two dogs and a bucket for 17 hours a day, a court heard this afternoon.
The woman used to allegedly be locked up by the woman she lived with, Anna Maria Jimenez, a 33-year-old Maltese woman, who is pleading not guilty to locking up the 39-year-old victim, threatening her, assaulting her and causing her slight injuries.
Ms Jimenez was also charged with threatening a 29-year-old woman who has been her flatmate for the past five months.
Prosecuting officer Joseph Busuttil told the court that the incident came to light after the flatmate approached Appoġġ and revealed the chilling situation she witnessed in the rented Birżebbuġa flat.
Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera heard how, at around 10pm at night, Ms Jimenez would lock up the victim in her “bedroom”, which comprised a bed and a few other belongings together with a bucket for her needs and two dogs.
She would give the victim Playmobil parts for her to put together, which she would then exchange for money at the factory.
Ms Jimenez, who works as a cleaner at Mater Dei Hospital, would unlock her upon her return from work at around 3pm when she would feed her and clean the room.
The 29-year-old flatmate felt threatened by Ms Jimenez, who had helped her find a job as a cleaner. Inspector Busuttil told the court that the flatmate was pressured into paying her more money for the rent and pressured into giving the accused her credit card and PIN number.
Ms Jimenez's boyfriend, a police officer, often slept at the apartment. Inspector Busuttil pointed out adding that while he did not find any evidence of wrongdoing, he passed on the officer’s file for him to be internally investigated due to the nature of his job.
The defence’s request for bail was rejected due to the fact that the victim is a vulnerable woman.
An expert was appointed to analyse the mobile phone communication between the flatmate and Ms Jimenez. The court also imposed a protection order on the flatmate and the victim throughout the duration of the court case.