Family appeals for protection after wife comes face-to-face with convicted husband

It was the second time in a few months, that inmate Anthony Falzon - convicted of attempted murder - was seen in public without any escort and talking freely to other people.

Lourdes Falzon was left for dead on April 5, 2002 after sustaining grievious injuries when her then husband had shot her five times as she walked out of Shopwise supermarket in Qormi.

Falzon - who had a restraining order imposed by the courts to keep him away from his wife and family following a history of domestic violence - had shot at his wife for allegedly ignoring him as he attempted to speak to her.

The woman sustained a bullet embedded in her neck and bullet wounds to her left shoulder and her left knee.

Doctors claim that Lourdes Falzon miraculously survived the shooting, and a jury had convicted her former husband for actually intending to kill her, and being mentally lucid at the time of the shooting.

Nine years since on since the incident, Lourdes Falzon tried to rebuild her life with the support of her children who never spoke to their father since then.

Lourdes Falzon is now under treatment for shock after she innocently came face-to-face with her assailant as she exited the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) complex in Hal Far. She had to hide behind cars and seek refuge until a bus came, rush aboard and avoid him seeing her.

This is the second time in a few months that Anthony Falzon was seen out on the streets and unguarded.

Last September, MaltaToday had revealed Falzon and another inmate convicted of drug trafficking as they sat on stone slabs next to a playing filed in Ghaxaq.

Acting prison director Abraham Zammit had admitted to MaltaToday that he adopted an ‘ad hoc’ policy above the established prison rules, and allowed inmates out into the community without an escort, years before the established prison rules actually allow him to do so.

Since then the ministry for justice and home affairs has formally launched a restorative justice programme. However, Lourdes Falzon’s son Jason has many questions to ask with regards to the release of his father into the community.

Speaking to MaltaToday, Jason Falzon said that he had spoken to acting prison director Abraham Zammit in April, expressing concern for his family’s security.

During the meeting, Jason Falzon produced psychiatric evidence about his father’s condition, and learnt that since his imprisonment he never received any professional treatment.

“We have received messages that say that my father wants to seek revenge once he gets out of prison,” Jason Falzon told MaltaToday, adding that the State should provide for the safety and security for his mother and her family.

When passing judgement in 2003, former judgeJoseph Galea Debono had stressed that he could not ignore the fact that Anthony Falzon’s was a “serious domestic crime,” and added that shooting his wife was not a "unique" case, and that since 2001 Falzon had three convictions for crimes related to family members.

Galea Debono also noted that, as a result of this incident, Lourdes Falzon had suffered permanent physical and psychological harm.