Man accused of punching girlfriend

A man was today granted bail and ordered to keep away from his former girlfriend after allegedly punching her in the face over an argument about another former girlfriend.

Bjorn Grima, 24 of Valletta, is alleged to have punched the girl on June 28. He is also alleged to have threatened her not to report the incident.

Magistrate Edwina Grima granted him bail against a deposit of €2,000 and a personal guarantee of €5,000. She also warned him that should be contact his former girlfriend in any manner, he would be re-arrested and would lose the €7,000.

ACCUSED OF STEALING LAPTOP

In a separate case, Charmaine Vella, 38, a Maltese-Australia resident in Mellieha, pleaded not guilty to stealing an HP laptop worth €944 from Ultimate Ltd in San Gwann. She also denied handling stolen property and relapsing.

Ms Vella was denied bail after Police Inspector Raymond Cassar said she had been missing for the past three weeks and she was not living in the residence shown on her ID card.

He said the woman was suffering a drug problem. She had four children and was living off social benefits.