The author of a book was today fined €100 for threatening the chairman of the National Book Council via an e-mail following negative comments about his work were posted on Facebook.

Andrew Gerald Sciberras, 49, co-authored the book 'Kritika Prattika - L-Ewwel Volum', together with Tarcisio Zarb, which was to be submitted as an entry for the National Book Prize.

However, prior to the adjudication process, the chairman of the National Book Council, Mark Camilleri, posted several negative comments on Facebook, prompting Mr Sciberras to vent his frustration via an e-mail, calling the chairman "trash", "a corrupt man" and "a social reject", also threatening to make him "swallow his teeth".

The threat prompted Mr Camilleri to reply, saying his offender would do well to seek psychiatric help, even offering "a contact of a very good psychologist" who "could be very useful" to Mr Sciberras.

Following the exchange of e-mails, the two were arraigned with having threatened and abused each other through the improper use of an electronic device.

Addressing the two men, who stood side by side in the dock as the judgments were read out, Magistrate Joseph Mifsud pronounced Mr Sciberras guilty and condemned him to pay a €100 fine, further binding him for a year under a penalty of €2,000 to provide for the safety of Mr Camilleri.

The court, on the other hand, acquitted Mr Camilleri since his own replies were not deemed to be defamatory, given the general context within which they had been written.