A karozzin owner was conditionally discharged for one year after he was found guilty of animal cruelty.

Paulseph Pirotta, 21 of Qormi, was accused of not having provided water to his horse nor sheltered it between November 24 and 25 last year. He was also accused of having tied up his horse and abandoned it for a long time at Valletta Waterfront.

Mr Pirotta had also accused of committing the crime during the period of a probation order issued in February last year.

Defence lawyer Robert Abela said the horse had only been left at the Waterfront for 45 minutes because his client received a phone call from his mother who told him that another horse of theirs was stamping his hoof and he went to see what happened. This showed how much he loved animals.

But  Police Inspector Kylie Borg insisted that Mr Pirotta only returned to his horse after the police phoned him.