A Valletta man was yesterday given a 15-month jail term suspended for two years after he admitted to trying to injure his sister-in-law and her husband by driving a car in their direction on Monday evening.

Magistrate Lawrence Quintano handed down judgement after hearing how the man, 34, had acted after he himself had been assaulted, by his wife and her sister, and was very sorry for his actions.

Police Inspector Victor Aquilina told Magistrate Quintano that the accused had cooperated with the police from the start and regretted what had happened.

The officer went on to explain how there was an ongoing family argument, which centred around alimony issues. On Monday afternoon, the man's estranged wife and her sister had assaulted him and even injured his hand.

"I have to do my job but I also have a heart and know that he acted because he had lost his mind after what had happened and his intentions were only to scare them... He was not the one following them but was being followed.

"Although he is to be punished for his actions I don't feel that he deserves an effective jail term," the inspector said.

Lawyer Michael Camilleri, for the accused, said his client was constantly being provoked by his wife's family and his client feared this provocation would continue.

Magistrate Quintano handed down a suspended jail term. He also fined the accused Lm100 and bound him not to approach his wife and her relatives against another Lm100 fine in default.