A 22-year-old man has been placed on probation for three years after making a prank phone call claiming a bomb had been planted at Numero Uno nightclub in Rabat.

The man, whose name is not being published because of his mental health issues, admitted to dialling 112 from a phone booth in Rabat and claiming there was a bomb on May 1, 2013.

He told Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera that he had taken a bus to Rabat to attend the celebrations organised for the feast of St Joseph.

He arrived in Saqqajja at about 5.30pm and, when he got off the bus, noticed a telephone booth. He had just read that there was a party at Numero Uno nightclub and decided, on a whim, to call 112 and tell inform police a bomb had been planted on the premises. 

Sometime later he came across a police officer near the Rabat church and asked if the police had the facilities to catch prank callers. The officer told him most pranksters were caught due to advanced technology. The conversation enabled the police to eventually track down the prankster.

He told the court he was sorry for what he had done.

The magistrate took note of his guilty plea, his apology, his  previous good conduct and the fact that he had acted in a moment of folly.

Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi represented the man.