The police are looking for a 33-year-old Libyan man who allegedly tried to carry out an abortion on his Moroccan partner but fled before help arrived.

It was the woman’s 15-year-old daughter who raised the alarm when she returned home and found her mother in the bathroom with her legs and wrists bound with duct tape.

The incident happened on Sunday afternoon in the woman’s apartment in Swieqi.

Sources said preliminary investigations indicated that the woman, 33, was about two months pregnant. She already has three children aged 15, nine and six.

He had probably watched videos on YouTube to plan the crime

The relationship between the woman and her boyfriend, who have been together for the past nine months, had gone south after she realised she was pregnant, the sources said.

The police were told that the wanted man forced his partner into the bathroom and bound her arms and legs. Investigators believe he had probably watched videos on YouTube to plan the crime, since he tried to clean a kitchen knife by dousing it with gin and setting it on fire using a lighter.

It has not yet been established what stage the procedure had reached by the time the man, who reportedly has no medical training, left the apartment, but what has been ascertained so far is that the knife was not used on the woman.

The sources said she had no injuries compatible with the use of a knife. However, the victim is being kept at Mater Dei Hospital and treated for the superficial injuries she sustained while the man was restraining her and until he tied her up.

It has yet to be established what made the man change his mind.

The sources said the police investigators were still awaiting the medical examination report to learn if the foetus was lost or suffered any injuries.

It is believed that the man had previous convictions and was known to the police.

Searches in places he usually frequents have so far yielded no results.