Man locked tourist in his bedroom

A man was yesterday found guilty of locking up an Englishwoman in his premises and injuring her.

He was sentenced to eight months imprisonment, suspended for one year.

Thomas Ebejer, 39, of Naxxar, was charged with having, on the night between July 25 and 26, 2002 unlawfully detained Ellen Bird.

The court heard how Mr Ebejer and Ms Bird had met while she was on holiday in Malta and that they had continued to meet during the rest of her holiday.

When Ms Bird returned to England, Mr Ebejer had called and had asked her to move back to Malta to live with him.

However, when the woman returned they had an argument and Mr Ebejer barred her from leaving his premises, locking her up in the bedroom. He also attacked her and bruised her, the court heard.

Ms Bird told the court she could not leave Mr Ebejer's premises as the front door was locked and he had threatened to bury her in a field.

Although Mr Ebejer denied the charges, the court found that there was sufficient evidence to back up Ms Bird's version.