A man who seriously injured another over a parking space was given a suspended jail term after the court noted that he had been "slightly" provoked.

Philip Bonanno occupied the parking space that a father and his son, Emanuel and Juan Mula, were waiting to move into at a supermarket car park in Mosta in 2006.

Testifying, Mr Mula said that when he tried to occupy the space, Mr Bonanno drove into his car and scraped his bumper. The men alighted and an argument ensued.

Mr Mula said that he saw the accused punch his son and he grabbed his son's aggressor by the neck and punched him on the head, the chin and his eye.

James Grech, who was in the car park, said he saw Mr Mula punching the accused and saw his father also approach the accused but he did not see whether the father had thrown any punches.

Magistrate Lawrence Quintano found Mr Bonanno guilty of breaking the son's glasses and seriously injuring his eye when he punched him.

He also found him guilty of slightly injuring the father.

After taking into consideration the fact that Mr Bonanno was "slightly" provoked during the attack and that he had a clean police record, Magistrate Quintano handed down a seven-month jail term suspended for two years.

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