A 21-year-old man has been handed a suspended sentence after admitting to threatening to kill his mother and her partner in a drunken fury.

The man, a Bulgarian who has been in Malta for the past year, was charged before Magistrate Charmaine Galea with threatening his mother and her partner and causing them fear that he will harm them.

Taking the witness stand, the mother said that her son has been in Malta for the past year but has been living in her St Paul's Bay apartment for the last five months. Prior to that, he lived with a friend.

In broken English, she told the court that her son spiralled out of control whenever he was drunk.

The mother and her partner had been urging the accused to get his life together and to hold down a job. The woman testified that her son had a job but refused to stick to it.

Things came to a head yesterday when, after vainly attempting to reason with him, the accused threatened to kill his mother and her partner with a knife and spat at them while drunk. 

"When he doesn't drink, he doesn't cause any problems," the mother told the court. 

Prosecuting officer Maurice Curmi told the court that the accused had been arrested last month after strolling naked down a street in Qawra. He had been admitted to Mount Carmel Hospital but was not presently receiving any treatment or care.

Asked by the magistrate whether he wished to return to his native Bulgaria, the accused replied: "Maybe I'll go. But if I find a place to live, I will stay for sure". 

The court sentenced him to three months imprisonment suspended for two years and issued a protection order in favour of his mother and her partner, ordering him not to approach them for a period of three years. 

Legal aid lawyer Francine Abela appeared for the accused.