Man breaches bail conditions by speaking to his girlfriend

A German national was yesterday jailed for one month after a court found him guilty of breaching his bail conditions when he accompanied his girlfriend to view a property.

Lars Wrede was accused on August 5 of living off the earnings of Claudia Bautz, his girlfriend, and was subsequently granted bail against a deposit of €1,500 and a personal guarantee of €4,000.

One of his bail conditions stated that he is not to speak to any of the witnesses in the case, including Ms Bautz.

Taking the witness stand, two owners of properties that Ms Bautz wanted to rent said that Mr Wrede had been with Ms Bautz when viewing their properties.

Mr Wrede accused them of lying but Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, in handing down judgment, said this was all a matter of credibility. She found no reason why the owners would lie about Mr Wrede's whereabouts.

Magistrate Scerri Herrera subsequently found Mr Wrede guilty and jailed him for one month. She also ordered the revocation of his bail and ordered his re-arrest.

The magistrate abstained from dealing with the request for the €1,500 deposit he paid and the €4,000 personal guarantee to be confiscated saying this request will be dealt with by the magistrate presiding over his case.