An off-duty bus driver who assaulted two young women after he said they were acting inappropriately while on a bus has been fined €1,000 for causing them slight injuries.

Marco Borg, 43, from Birkirkara, accused Tiffany Gatt, 17, and Sylvana Galea, 21, of kissing and touching each other intimately, annoying passengers.

Ms Galea and Ms Gatt denied in court having ever done anything to annoy people around them or that they had kissed.

Ms Galea merely held her friend around the waist to stop her falling off her seat as the bus was full, they said.

Following the incident on February 3, 2012, former public transport provider, Arriva, had issued a statement saying that “the assault seems to have been a case of homophobia” and sacked Mr Borg.

The man assumed the women were lesbians and asked them to refrain from kissing

Part of the incident was caught on camera and uploaded to YouTube by a passenger who was on the Naxxar route bus.

People who said they were present during the incident posted comments below the video saying that the man assumed the women were lesbians and asked them to refrain from kissing.

The court heard that during the journey, the driver began to shout at the women and raised his fists to Ms Galea’s face. He then grabbed Ms Gatt and threw her to the floor in the luggage bay, injuring her.

He then grabbed hold of Ms Galea and took her out of the bus.

When giving his own version, Mr Borg said he never assaulted the women but merely raised his fist. He said he had done so after they ignored his repeated orders to stop kissing and touching each other intimately.

Magistrate Neville Camilleri found him guilty of slight injury and breaching the peace. He fined him €1,000. Mr Borg was acquitted of attempted serious injury.