A tired young student who had a drink too many was on Wednesday given a suspended sentence and presented with a hefty bill in damages after smashing a car windscreen to take a nap inside.

The Chilean 25-year-old, on a study trip to Malta due to end next month, was making his way back to his residence at San Ġwann in a drunken state on Monday night.

Going through Żebbuġ Road, St Julian’s and feeling the urge to sleep, the young man decided to smash the windscreen and one of the rear windows of a parked Nissan vehicle, intending to settle down and sleep inside.

He ended up being arrested and prosecuted for voluntarily damaging the car, belonging to a vehicle rental company, exercising a pretended right and being drunk in public.

After hearing submissions by both parties, the court, presided over by magistrate Charmaine Galea, declared the accused guilty upon his own admission and condemned him to a jail term of two years suspended for four.

It also ordered him to settle the bill for €4,397 representing damages caused to the car and to do so by November, when he is expected to return to his homeland.

Inspector Matthew Spagnol prosecuted. Lawyer Josette Sultana was legal aid counsel.