The time had come to introduce the use of electronic monitoring of persons out on bail, judge Consuelo Scerri Herrera has argued.

The judge was weighing in on a bail request made by lawyers acting on behalf of Mustafa Abu Seadah, who stands accused of raping a woman.

In a decree handed down on Wednesday, the judge observed that the only conditions that the court could impose which have some effect on the accused requesting bail were curfews, signing a bail book, imposing a personal guarantee and taking financial deposits.

The judge said the time had come to introduce electronic monitoring, a system used by many countries around the world.

Read: Electronic tagging and serious offenders' register in the pipeline

She pointed out that as far back as 2012, lawyer Franco Debono, at the time a member of parliament, had already flagged the issue and suggested electronic tagging of suspects.

The former PN MP had highlighted the fact that people were in detention who  could otherwise enjoy their freedom while the state maintained surveillance to reach a balance between the interests of the accused and those of society in general.

Were this system to exist in Malta, said the court, the state would be in a better position to monitor people accused of criminal offences who had been given bail.

In the absence of this facility, Scerri Herrera ruled that the court had to apply other measures.

She granted Abu Seadah bail on condition that he lives at a designated address, sign a bail book three times a week and not approach any prosecution witnesses or leave the islands.

He was required to leave a deposit of €2,000 and provide a personal guarantee of €5,000.

Stefano Filletti was defence counsel.