A man, who had been sentenced to a four-month jail term for failing to pay child maintenance to his estranged wife has had his punishment reduced to a six-month conditional discharged on appeal.

Mr Justice David Scicluna heard how the man had been jailed by the Magistrates' Court for failing to pay maintenance between January and July 2013.

The man appealed arguing that, while it was true that he failed to pay maintenance, he contributed to his wife and daughter's lives in other ways. He said his wife worked and his daughter was no longer a minor. Even though he did not live with them he still paid the utility bills, among other things. Apart from that, he said, he had told the Magistrates' Court he was willing to pay the maintenance owed but the court had not given him time to do so.

Mr Justice Scicluna noted that, since then, the maintenance had been paid. He also noted that the law, that allowed for imprisonment in such cases, was aimed at ensuring that maintenance was paid and not merely as a punishment for the breach of a court ruling.