Man charged with harassing mother for money

A man from Sliema has been remanded in custody on charges of harassing his mother and trespassing inside her home.

Senior police inspector Trevor Micallef arraigned 63-year-old Anthony Balzan before magistrate Gabriella Vella this morning, accusing him of causing his mother and sister to fear he would use violence against them, harassing his mother and sister, breaking into their property and causing damage.

The court heard that the police were called after Balzan was found inside his mother’s residence, having broken a window.

Balzan pleaded not guilty. His lawyer Yanika Bugeja, appointed as legal aid to the accused, requested bail.

Bail was objected to by the prosecution, who pointed out that he had given the wrong address to the police, saying he was still living in a hotel after having checked out.

The accused would harass his mother for money to feed “a habit,” said the inspector, arguing that now he had reached a point where he was damaging her property.

Bugeja explained that the accused lived at the address specified and had only stayed at the hotel for a while due to loneliness. He would obey his bail conditions, she promised, “not hang himself from his own noose.”

He had spent an hour knocking on his mother’s door to no answer, got worried and opened a door, she submitted. The inspector, however, said the mother had filed the police report as she felt that “things couldn’t go on like this.”

Bail was refused at this stage due to the nature of the charges against the accused and the fact that his mother and sister were still to testify, also because he did not offer the necessary guarantees to the satisfaction of the court. The mother and sister were ordered to testify in the first sitting to avoid the man being held in detention for longer than necessary.