A lorry driver who punched a security officer in the face got off with a conditional discharge by a court on Thursday after the victim forgave him.

The incident happened in May 2014 at Laboratory Wharf in Grand Harbour.

The fight broke out as Jesmond Micallef, 32 of Qormi was about to drive his trailer out of the precinct. The security officer insisted that he could not drive through the gate unless he presented customs documents.

It was when the officer insisted that the trailer was to be reversed so as not to block the way to outgoing traffic, that the driver allegedly reacted by getting out of the cabin, hurling abuse at the guard and landing him a frontal blow which knocked off part of a  tooth.

In his statement to the police, Mr Micallef had contradicted the victim’s version, stating that he had been the one to suffer the aggression in the first place. Moreover, he had insisted that the whole episode had been witnessed by several people, none of whom, however, were ever summoned to confirm this version in court.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera concluded that the victim’s version had been more credible.

As for punishment, the court observed that the accused was a first-time offender and had earned forgiveness by the victim, who testified that he had since patched things up with his aggressor.

For this reason, the court declared the accused guilty and conditionally discharged him for three years.