Diner chef denies sexual abuse of colleague

The cook of a diner is in custody. She is accused of sexually harassing a colleague in her car after a late shift.

Mohamed Abrahim Manneh, 27, a Malian national from Rabat, was arrested before Judge Nadia Vella on suspicion of having committed a non-consensual sexual act against a female colleague and causing her minor bodily harm.

He was also accused of holding her against her will, sexually harassing her, instilling fear of violence in her and committing an indecent act in a public place.

Police Inspector Warren Galea, who is prosecuting the case together with lawyer Jürgen Dalli of the Attorney General’s Office, described to the court how a Maltese woman reported sexual harassment by the accused, with whom she had worked for eight years, at the Mosta police station on 12 July.

The woman told police that Manneh worked as a cook in the same restaurant where she worked. On July 12, he asked her to give him a ride to his apartment in Rabat after a late shift. She pointed out that he had his own car, but said he insisted and that she agreed because they were friends.

But when he got into the car, the man began touching and groping her without her consent, the inspector said.

After the incident, the woman went straight to the health centre in Mosta, where she was diagnosed with bruises and abrasions on her chest. She then reported the incident to the police.

Maneh was taken into custody at his home on July 15 based on an arrest warrant issued that day, the inspector said.

When asked by the court to enter a plea, the defendant replied that he was not guilty.

The public prosecutor applied for a protective order in her favor.

Lawyer Ingrid Zammit Young, who acted as legal aid counsel for the accused, applied for the accused to be released on bail on the grounds that Manneh had a fixed address and a fixed place of work. He no longer works at the premises in question and has no reason to return there, the lawyer said, arguing that his place of work was not prison but his first brush with the law.

Zammit Young told the court that Manneh was dismissed after his employer was informed of the dismissal but that he has since found alternative employment and is currently on leave after being informed that his employment was being terminated.

Prosecutor Jürgen Dalli objected to the man’s release on bail on the grounds that the defendant knew where the victim and other possible witnesses worked and that he had also failed to inform the police of his new place of work.

In addition to his concerns about the man’s alleged victim being bribed, his former employer and his former colleagues, Dalli said Maneh also posed a risk of flight, especially after his vacation was used up. The risk of his flight was “real and relevant,” the prosecutor argued.

The court then refused to grant bail because there was a risk that Maneh might approach the woman or witnesses or flee.

In addition, a protective order was issued in favor of the woman, prohibiting the defendant from having any contact with her in any way, including through an intermediary.

Attorney Keith Borg supported the victim as parte civile.