A truck driver from Zebbug was charged with harassing his estranged wife, threatening her and causing her to fear that she would be subjected to violence.

A court was told Monday that the man, aged 39, allegedly threatened to throw acid at his wife who suspected that he was having an affair with his secretary.

The man, who was remanded in custody, was also charged with stalking the woman, breaching his bail conditions, misuse of electronic telecommunications equipment and recidivism.

The man was charged after the woman filed a police report, which is believed to be the fourth she submitted against her former partner.

Inspector Colin Sheldon told magistrate Victor Axiaq how the alleged victim had filed a complaining of having received threats from the defendant, with whom she had been in a long-term relationship until last December. The man, the inspector said, had made threats about throwing acid at her and would regularly intimidate her and her mother.

The police had issued a warrant for the man’s arrest, but were unable to track him down and had later placed him on the wanted list. The defendant was arrested on Saturday, said the inspector.

The man had admitted to the police to sending some messages to the alleged victim but insisted that the messages had been sent in the heat of the moment and that he had never raised a hand to her. The defendant said he had asked the woman to return a ring and jewellery that he had given to her as gifts.

Defence lawyer Jason Grima requested the accused be granted bail after he pleaded not guilty, a request which was objected to by the prosecution and parte civile lawyer Marita Pace Dimech..

“He definitely didn’t intend to carry out his threats,” the defence lawyers said. “Had he wanted to carry them out, he would have already done so by now. He never even touched her.”

He explained that the alleged victim had accused the defendant of having had an affair with his secretary. “He said lots of empty words which now put him in a bad light, but whether he would have acted on them or not is another matter,” argued the lawyer.

The lawyer also argued that remanding the defendant in custody would prejudice his ability to pay maintenance to his estranged wife.

The court said that it was not convinced that he would abide by his bail conditions and ordered him to be remanded in custody.