A man who tried to blow up his mother’s house, after driving on to a pavement where people were sitting at a cafe, has been sentenced to 18 months in jail and banned from driving for five years.

The car incident happened in Federico Maempel Square, Qormi, on July 24, 2009, in what the police alleged was an attempt by Mark Pace, 43, to kill his former partner Sina Fenech.

However, Magistrate Doreen Clarke said there was no evidence to support this allegation and given that Ms Fenech forgave him and renounced criminal action against him, she acquitted him of slightly injuring her.

Mr Pace, from Qormi, then left the car sitting on the pavement and went to his mother’s house not far from the scene where officers found him in a nervous and emotional state.

He refused to leave the house and after some 45 minutes Superintendent Sandro Gatt was allowed inside and found the accused clutching a bottle of whiskey.

Mr Pace swallowed a large number of pills in front of the officer and then switched on the gas cooker in the kitchen and lita lighter.

Supt. Gatt called in back-up but Mr Pace refused to cooperate and the police had to use a taser gun on him after he also refused to release what later turned out to be a knife in his hand.

Magistrate Clarke found him guilty of threatening police officers, resisting the police, being in possession of a knife, breaching the conditions of a previous release and relapsing.

She said that despite being given several chances to reform he chose not to take the opportunities, which included probation, conditional discharges and even periods of incarceration.