The cyclist charged with the attempted murder of a motorist and who had his bail conditions revoked last week has been granted bail again.

Daniel Briffa, 22, allegedly slashed Nezar El Gadi in the neck after he kicked the mirror of the car belonging to the victim's wife.

The case took a strange twist on the same day Mr Briffa was arraigned when Mr El Gadi filed a false report at the American Embassy claiming that he was asked to be a spy for the Libyan government.

He told US officials he had been asked to photograph the embassy and the activity going on outside the large office block in St Anne's Street, Floriana.

Admitting to filing the false report, Mr El Gadi was jailed for two years, the term being suspended for four years.

Just 36 hours after Mr Briffa was released on bail by Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona under a personal guarantee of €5,000, he was re-arrested after the Attorney General appealed saying the guarantee was too low.

He remained under preventative arrest until yesterday when Magistrate Edwina Grima granted him bail again against a deposit of €20,000 and a personal guarantee of €30,000, after taking into consideration the fact that the victim had testified.

Defence lawyer David Gatt argued that during the time in which his client was out on bail he had plenty of time to tamper with the evidence had he wanted to but he did not.

Dr Gatt cast doubt on Mr El Gadi's credibility given the false police report he lodged two days after the alleged knifing occurred. The defence counsel also pointed out that the main witness had now testified and there was no more fear that evidence could be tampered with.

Police Inspector Elton Taliana opposed bail given the seriousness of the crime. However, the court upheld the plea by the defence and granted bail.