The woman was testifying against a Tunisian man, Mabrouk Mourad, 24, who is pleading not guilty to holding her against her will and threatening her with a knife on 19 June.

Ms Ciantar, a psychologist, explained that as she was walking to her car after work, in St Venera, at around 2.30pm on the day in question, the accused was waiting in his car, which was parked in front of hers.

“He got out of the car and ran towards me swearing and shouting,” she said. He was carrying a bottle of wine and as he approached her, she tried to run away.

“I did not get very far because he caught up with me, grabbed my top and put his hand around my neck and pulled me in the opposite direction,” the witness continued.

She said the man continued dragging her, even when she lost her balance. He stopped next to the back door of his parked car and she said she saw him pull something out of his pocket.

“I looked down and saw he was holding a knife against my stomach. He said, “shut up or I will stab you”. At this point the witness explained that she pulled her stomach back even though she said the accused was not actually pressing the knife against her.

Mourad then threw her into the back seat of his car and climbed into the passenger seat. The knife was still in his hand and Ms Ciantar said it had a long, yellow handle.

“He took a swig from the bottle of wine and I told him to put the knife away,” she continued. “He threw the knife under the seat and then he started saying that I was trying to make him leave the island.”

Ms Ciantar said the accused brought up many previous incidents, such as when she had already reported him to the police on charges similar to the ones in this case.

The witness told the court she knew Mourad from when she used to work at Dar Suret il-Bniedem in Gzira. Ms Ciantar said it felt as though the incident lasted a very long time, but she could not recall how long. “Everything only stopped when the police came,” she said.

Mabrouk Mourad is also being charged with the possession of the knife without a licence, driving without a licence or insurance cover and uttering obscene words in public.

Magistrate Tonio Micallef Trigona presided over the court while Inspector Victor Aquilina prosecuted.