A man was yesterday sentenced to 21 months in jail for assaulting a bus driver.

Mark Lawrence Rizzo, 50, from Fgura, was convicted of assaulting John Abdilla in Paola on November 19, 2011 while he was driving his Ford Escort.

The car and bus almost collided when Mr Rizzo suddenly drove out of a parking spot. Mr Rizzo began hooting his horn and Mr Abdilla reacted with an offensive finger gesture.

The bus drove off but Mr Rizzo followed and when it stopped he started assaulting the driver.

Mr Rizzo told the police his girlfriend tried to speak to the driver to tell him that she was pregnant and that there was a nine-month-old sick child in the car but he pushed her, forcing him to react by assaulting the driver.

Magistrate Neville Camilleri found him guilty of attacking the driver, damaging the windscreen worth €2,260 and relapsing, clearing him of driving negligently.

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