A bus driver yesterday asked to be sent to jail rather than be fined, claiming he was completely broke.

The 60-year-old man, Gerald Scicluna, who walked into the courtroom covered in engine oil, pleaded guilty to insulting and slightly injuring the husband of the Sta Venera mayor in an incident sparked off by the council's complaints that his garage in Cannon Road is in a dingy state.

The incident took place yesterday at 9.30 a.m., just outside the man's garage in Sta Venera.

The victim, Joseph Vella, said, when contacted after the court hearing, that he was outside his china shop, spraying insect-repellent, when Mr Scicluna went round. He started insulting him, his wife and his mother as the shopkeeper walked back into the shop.

Once inside, the bus driver, who followed him, started beating him. Partly because of the shock and partly because he was wary of damaging the ceramics on display, Mr Vella said he did not react.

"He was like a bull in a china shop," Mr Vella recalled later.

A crowd assembled outside the shop, attracting police attention. In fact, Mr Scicluna was arrested on the spot and arraigned shortly after.

He immediately pleaded guilty and Magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna proceeded to pass judgment. When he found out that the punishment would be a fine, however, Mr Scicluna objected, saying he would rather be sent to prison because he was completely broke. "I already have €30,000 in debt to pay to my bank" he said.

The magistrate, however, said there is no way he would send Mr Scicluna, who was not represented by a lawyer, to prison. He was fined €233 and given a month during which to pay the amount.

The case attracted the condemnation of the Local Councils Association which expressed solidarity with the mayor, Elizabeth Vella, and her husband.

The mayor said after the hearing that Mr Scicluna has a very dirty garage in which he keeps his vehicles. "He thinks he is above the law" and went after my husband because I am a woman, she added.