A family in Birżebbuġa became prisoners in their own home faced with threats by a bar owner who was reported to the police for playing loud music, a court heard yesterday.

Assistant Police Commissioner Neville Aquilina said Noel Falzon, 40, of Birżebbuġa, was passing comments and making threats every time a member of the family left the house situated opposite Envy Bar. The family members had effectively become prisoners in their own home, he said.

At this point, defence lawyer Gianella Caruana Curran said she found it strange that a high ranking officer such as the assistant police commissioner should be making submissions to the court.

The officer retorted that the threats had reached such a point he had to get involved because if the matter was allowed to go any further he was afraid the situation would escalate. He said the accused, who had a number of pending related cases, had made a series of threats against the family.

Dr Caruana Curran said the family was continuously filing reports about the bar for every little thing such as when he left the music on for a few minutes beyond the time limit. The pending cases mentioned by the officer were all about these petty things, she added.

Furthermore, the charges against her client were about a single incident on Monday morning, so the allegations made by the officer were all irrelevant, Dr Caruana Curran argued.

Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani granted Mr Falzon bail against a personal guarantee of €5,000 and a deposit of €500 and placed the family, Peter Paul Cutajar and Anna Cutajar Paris, under a protection order.