A German woman who abducted her three-year-old son last year appeared to use a taser gun on her ex-partner’s girlfriend outside the couple’s Żabbar home yesterday in another kidnap attempt.

The incident, captured on closed circuit television cameras, shows the Maltese partner of the child’s German father – Nico Leonhardt – park her car outside their home and the child climbing out of the back seat yesterday at about 3pm.

The boy – who lives with his father following a court order granting him custody – is seen outside the main gate when, suddenly, a dark-coloured car pulls up nearby and two women run out.

The Maltese woman grabbed hold of the child and ran while the other two women gave chase.

The German woman allegedly holding a taser gun was identified as the child’s mother – Petra Nemet – who had abducted him last year.

Speaking to this newspaper at the Paola health centre last night, the Maltese woman claimed to have been hit by the taser on her side and face but said she continued to hold on to the child while the women beat her.

Sequence of CCTV images showing the attempt to snatch the child.

She said she lost her eyesight for a few minutes.

A relative of the Maltese woman, who lives next door, realised what was happening and took her and the child into his home. The two other women then ran back to their car and drove away. Police confirmed they had received a report of the incident and that a taser gun appeared to have been used.

Police said last night that no arrests had been made but that they knew the identity of the people involved.

The CCTV system was installed by the family in May amid fears that the child would again be abducted.

Police know the identity of the people involved

On May 11, The Sunday Times of Malta reported how Ms Nemet was arrested outside the Żabbar home of her former partner after she turned up with a television crew to see their son. Police arrested Ms Nemet over claims she harassed Mr Leonhardt’s partner.

In May 2013, the Maltese courts upheld a request by Mr Leonhardt to grant him care and custody of the child. Ms Nemet had left Malta with the child towards the end of 2012 without the father’s approval.

Mr Leonhardt filed a child abduction report. In December 2013 Ms Nemet was arrested by Polish police on the Ukrainian border.

Court proceedings started in Poland in terms of the Hague Convention on child abduction.

The court ordered that the boy be returned to Malta and this took place in March.