A court today heard that a bus passenger accused of offending public morals, was in actual fact trying to prevent himself from urinating as he suffered from a condition which made him incontinent.

The incident happened yesterday evening, when the police received a complaint that the defendant had exposed his private parts and carried out lewd acts on bus route 120 from Xghajra to Pembroke. The defendant was arraigned this morning before Magistrate Neville Camilleri and pleaded guilty to offending public morals and exposing himself naked.

During submissions, legal aid lawyer Leontine Calleja pointed out that part of her client's body had been paralysed after he was shot in Sudan.

As a consequence, the defendant suffered from incontinence and in this particular case was only trying to avoid wetting himself as it was a long bus ride. Inspector Nikolai Sant who prosecuted confirmed that the man did actually suffer from such condition.

In its decision the court discharged the defendant on condition of not committing a crime within a year. He was also fined €50.