The man arrested yesterday for punching a female warden in Sliema has been temporarily released on bail pending the outcome of a pre-sentencing report.
The report is intended to help assist a magistrate to make a fully informed and appropriate decision.
Carmelo Micallef, 52 of Santa Venera, had parked his car at Cathedral Street yesterday, where warden Louise Anne Farrugia was diverting traffic while children exited a nearby school.
She asked the accused, who was parked at the corner, to drive on but he refused and allegedly assaulted the warden.
Mr Micallef was charged with assaulting and threatening a public official, causing her slight injuries, using vulgar language, breaching public peace and disobeying orders.
The accused admitted his guilt but lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Alessia Zammit McKeon asked Magistrate Audrey Demicoli to order a pre-sentencing report prior to handing down her judgment.
The accused had been similarly convicted in 2014 of assaulting a police officer. He had also been convicted of threatening a police officer back in 2004 and of assaulting a man in 1997.
The court was initially reluctant to order a pre-sentencing report for such an offence, noting that probation officers were burdened by massive case loads.
Dr Azzopardi argued that his client's previous convictions were of precisely the same nature and that the accused clearly had a condition which had gone untreated for years.
"People might say he has a 'short fuse' but in reality, this is symptomatic of conditions such as ADHD. We ask the court to order a pre-sentencing report to determine whether he has ADHD or bipolar disorder, which report would help to better inform the court on whether the sentence meted out should be effective or suspended and what support should be provided."
Prosecuting officer Mark Mercieca objected to bail being granted in the interim, arguing that the offence was serious in nature and that the accused had a string of similar convictions.
The defence argued that there was no risk of him tampering with the evidence, since the accused had admitted to the charges and no witnesses would need to testify. There was also no risk of him absconding since he has a fixed residence.
The court granted him bail against a deposit of €800 and a personal guarantee of €2,000.