A man was denied bail on Wednesday after pleading not guilty to having stalked and harassed his former girlfriend despite a court order to steer clear of the woman.

Frankie Falzon, a 40-year old plasterer from Qormi, was arraigned  after his persistent habits over the past three months, led to his arrest.

The man was charged with stalking, harassing and attacking his ex. He was also charged with having insulted and threatened the woman, her family members as well as her new boyfriend, causing them to fear violence.

Other charges related to the breach of a probation order, as well as a Protection Order, besides the fact that the alleged offences had been committed during the operative period of a suspended sentence.

A request for bail brought forth strong objections by prosecuting Inspector Joseph Busuttil who argued that there were serious concerns about the man’s trustworthiness, especially since he had breached the court orders issued only last February.

Moreover, there were civilian witnesses, including the alleged victim, her relatives and boyfriend, who were still to testify.

Besides, the man had supplied the police with a residence address which turned out to be incorrect, the inspector went on.

“When police went to his address it was abandoned and the neighbours told them that nobody lived there,” he said, prompting defence counsel Benjamin Valenzia to point out that there were “two sides to the story.”

In fact, the alleged victim had called his client from a private number even though there had been a Protection Order barring all communication between the two, Dr Valenzia argued.

The lawyer further noted that the man lived at his mother’s house, not at the address stated on his official documents.

The court, presided over by magistrate Neville Camilleri, turned down the request for bail, urging the prosecution to summon all civilian witnesses at the first hearing