Man charged with harassing ex-partner hits courtroom door after being denied bail

A man accused of repeatedly contacting his estranged partner, in defiance of a court order issued just two days before, was remanded in custody on Friday.

Inspector Audrey Micallef charged the 42-year-old stevedore from Fgura with harassment and misuse of telecommunications equipment, as well as with breaching a restraining order and committing an offence while under a probation order.

The inspector explained that the police Domestic Violence Unit had received a report from the alleged victim on July 24, informing the police that the man had been calling her repeatedly despite the restraining order that had been issued two days prior.

The reason for the repeated calls appears to be related to a child which the former couple have in common.

After obtaining a warrant for the man’s arrest, he had been taken into custody, said the inspector, adding that although he had been very cooperative, he had ignored recommendations that he consult with a lawyer before speaking to the police.

The man was subsequently taken to hospital complaining of chest pains, where he had proceeded to cause a scene and had resisted being discharged back into police custody, the inspector said.

Lawyer Martina Herrera, appointed to assist the man as legal aid counsel, informed the court that he would be pleading not guilty to the charges and was requesting bail.

Inspector Micallef objected to the man’s request to be released from arrest as this would potentially jeopardise witness evidence and the real risk that the man, who was described in court as untrustworthy, would commit further crimes. The man also had no fixed address, telling the court that he had been staying at a homeless shelter, and had told the police that he had no money.

Herrera emphasised that the man was presumed to be innocent at this stage, adding that several defendants had been granted bail while residing at the homeless shelter in question, in the past. The man had recently found a job but still had very limited finances, said the lawyer, asking the court to bear this in mind should it impose a deposit for the purposes of bail.

But the court, noting that the alleged victim had not yet testified and in view of the serious nature of the offences the man was being accused of committing just two days after being issued with a probation order, rejected the bail request.

“I’m sorry but you’ve only heard one side of the story,” piped up the accused, unbidden, addressing the court directly, prompting the court to urge the man’s defence lawyer to explain the preliminary nature of an arraignment hearing to her client. 

The man kicked benches while in the courtroom and continued to remonstrate with the police outside the courtroom, at one point hitting a door while inexplicably not handcuffed, before being led away to be held in preventive custody at the Corradino Correctional Facility.