A mentally disabled woman claiming she had been kept locked in a room for 17 hours a day for nine years told a court that she would play bingo weekly, take the dogs out three times a day and would even go out to register for work.
The woman, 39, was testifying in criminal proceedings against Anna Maria Jimenez, a 33-year-old Maltese woman, who is pleading not guilty to locking the woman up, threatening, assaulting and slightly injuring her.
The case came to light after Ms Jimenez's flatmate approached Appoġġ and revealed the chilling situation she witnessed in a rented Birżebbuġa flat which she had shared with Ms Jimenez for five months.
Testifying via video-conference, the 39-year-old victim claimed she was constantly beaten by the accused and kept locked in a room with two dogs amid an unbearable stench of urine and faeces.
She told the court there were no sanitary facilities in the room and that she would have to relief herself using a bucket. The victim testified that she would wake up at 7am and spend hours doing nothing with very little food and water.
However, her version of events came into question during cross examination by defence lawyer Joe Giglio. The woman had complained that she had been denied access to her mother for nine years.
Yet, today she admitted that the accused had played a part in re-establishing contact with her mother and had taken her to see her about a year ago.
She also admitted she would go out and play bingo once a week and register for work, take the dogs out for a walk three times a day and cook for the accused.
Though the woman had complained that she used to be locked for 17 hours, she confirmed that when the police came to the house she was in the kitchen. Asked for an explanation, she told the court Ms Jimenez had let her out.
At the end of the hearing Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit upheld the request filed by the accused and granted her bail against a deposit of €500 and a personal guarantee of €8,000.
Inspectors Joseph Busuttil and Sylvana Briffa are prosecuting.