A man who allegedly held a knife to his wife’s throat in the course of a domestic dispute walked out of court a free man on Wednesday, after his wife refused to testify against him. 

The 42-year-old plasterer had charges against him dropped at the end of a tense court sitting which saw his wife called to the witness stand three separate times. 

A court heard earlier this month that the couple, who live in Birkirkara, had a fight on the afternoon of Sunday, January 19 in which the man held a knife to his wife’s throat. 

He was arrested and charged with causing his wife to fear violence, insulting and threatening her. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. 

The woman, who has five children with the man, initially told the court that she did not want to testify against her husband because she was “afraid”. 

That prompted commotion, with the magistrate noting that the witness appeared fearful and the woman’s own lawyers saying that she was acting against their legal advice. 

The witness was instructed to return to the stand. She reiterated that she no longer wanted to testify, but said that she didn’t want to do so because of her children.

Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo momentarily postponed the hearing. When it resumed, defence lawyer Franco Debono summoned inspector Omar Zammit to the witness stand. 

Zammit told the court that the woman had contacted him earlier this month after her husband was denied bail in the case.

She had told him that she no longer wanted to testify because she did not want to see the father of her children jailed, the inspector testified. Zammit said she had made no mention of being afraid. 

The woman was then called once again to the witness stand for a third time. She again insisted she did not wish to testify, and told the court she wanted the case withdrawn. 

In light of that request, the court noted that it felt it should give due consideration to the woman’s wishes, given that she shared a family and five children with the accused.

It noted that the woman had been given three opportunities to testify, but she had chosen not to do so, even after consulting her lawyers. 

The court therefore called a halt to proceedings against the accused, setting him free and bringing the case to a close. 

Inspector Omar Zammit prosecuted. Lawyers Franco Debono and Tiziana Micallef were defence counsel. Lawyers Ibtisam Sadegh and Edward Camilleri appeared parte civile.