Alfred Mifsud’s former partner says she received an SMS intended for new lover

Alfred Mifsud’s former partner has told a court that she had realised that the Central Bank Deputy Governor was seeing someone else during their relationship as he had sent her messages that had been intended for his other lover.

Taking the witness stand before Judge Silvio Meli, Anna Zelbst testified in a court case Mifsud had filed asking for her eviction from an apartment at Fort Cambridge, Tigné. She claimed that Mifsud would call her an “unfit mother” and berated her for going out to work.

The couple were never tied in marriage, but the two had entered into a contract for maintenance. Their relationship was temporarily halted in 2006. The two later went back together in 2009. “We were in a restaurant in Valletta when he told me that he still loved me and wanted to fix things between us. I didn’t really want to but I didn’t tell him this.” She said she accepted because she cared for the children.

The case revolves around a Fort Cambridge apartment which had not been finished at the time.

“He continued to visit my Naxxar home and eat there with me. The children were always there.”

They later moved to Fort Cambridge. She said there she was not happy and said that she was afraid of heights and the flat was on the 15th floor. She said she decided to keep her thoughts to herself because of the children.

Ms Zelbst then recalled that one day she realised Mr Mifsud was not faithful.

“It was Friday and he came back from work at 9pm. He wanted to go out to eat. I had told him that he had been outside since 7am and was probably tired, but he still insisted. We went out to eat alone and he was on his mobile. He told me that he was sending an email to the chairman of his workplace.”

She then unlocked the mobile phone to send a message to her daughter who lives abroad.

“As I unlocked it I found a message from Alfred, I thought he was joking as he did this sometimes, but when I read it I found a message to his lover. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was sending an email, so I told him that he had just messaged me.”

At that moment, Alfred Mifsud seized her hand and begged her to forgive him. She did not. It appears Mr Mifsud had done this mistake before with one of her daughters.

She had left for a drive to clear her head. Once back at the apartment, she found Mr Mifsud in bed. She confronted him and told him that if he had a girlfriend he should leave immediately. Mr Mifsud left the apartment at end of February last year.

Mr Mifsud had explained how he fell in love with the new girlfriend via an email. “I asked him if he would be keeping on giving me my monthly cheque. He said he would but I wanted everything in writing.”

While she was in Brussels, her son had caught Mr Mifsud looking into her files at home. She asked her son to look for a particular file but the drawer was empty.

The case continues in March.