The 21-year-old man who was jailed for two years for running over twin sisters on a zebra crossing, yesterday walked out of prison after serving 16 months due to good conduct – even after he set fire to his cell last year.

Mr Ciantar set his prison cell alight after... some weeks earlier he had jumped out of the prison’s internal courtyard on the third floor

However, Maximilian Ciantar will not be able to drive for the next six months after just last week the appeal court confirmed his two-year jail term but reduced a 10-year driving ban to six months.

This will come as little comfort to the parents, whose daughters, Sarah Marie and Rebecca Marie Falzon, are still recovering from the accident which occurred on the evening of April 28, 2010, as they crossed the pedestrian crossing after leaving their Christian doctrine class.

Mr Ciantar was driving his van without a licence and at 102kph when the vehicle struck the girls.

The appeal judgement was criticised by several commentators because the six-month driving ban started counting immediately; it appears they were under the impression that Mr Ciantar’s two-year jail term would start on the day judgement was delivered.

However, Mr Ciantar spent all but two months in preventive custody since he was charged in court in May 2010. Following his arraignment, he left prison on bail in mid-February but ended up back behind bars two months later because his father withdrew as a guarantor for his son’s €13,000 bail bond.

According to law the time spent in preventive arrest has to be deducted from a jail sentence. The law also allows prison authorities to grant an inmate remission for good conduct.

In this case, because of remission, each year Mr Ciantar was to serve was reduced to eight months.

Soon after being arraigned for the hit-and-run, Mr Ciantar set his prison cell alight after his girlfriend was allegedly found trying to supply him with heroin. Some weeks earlier he had jumped out of the prison’s internal courtyard on the third floor, only to land on a protective net.

Asked how Mr Ciantar was eligible for remission once he had clearly misbehaved, a prison spokesman quoted case law that did not allow a person to be punished twice for the same crime. Mr Ciantar will be facing separate criminal proceedings for his actions and punishing him twice would result in double jeopardy.

Besides, the spokesman added, those incidents had happened over a year ago and the inmate’s behaviour had changed.

The twins’ parents, Stephen and Monica Falzon, have described the appeal court decision to reduce the driving ban as “an insult to society’s intelligence”.

The judge noted that, although Mr Ciantar had previous traffic convictions, including driving without a licence, this was the first time he had been found guilty of reckless driving.

The Falzons are considering pursuing the case further in the civil courts. However, they are disheartened. They also cannot believe how Mr Ciantar was awarded €1,000 in compensation for a breach of human rights over restrictive bail conditions.