A man was handed a three-year treatment order after admitting to making a series of harassing phone calls to a phone number allegedly mistaken for that of a former Armed Forces of Malta major.

John Mary Zammit, the 37-year old from Żabbar, was facing charges over a number of calls made to a female recipient last December and in the preceding months.

The man was charged on Thursday - coinciding with his birthday - with the improper use of an electronic means of communication, harassment of the recipient of the calls, as well as with having caused the woman to fear violence.

Details of the circumstances surrounding the calls were scanty, hinting only towards the fact that the caller had apparently mistaken the woman's number for that of an ex-AFM Officer.

Upon the man's own admission, the court, presided over by magistrate Anthony Vella, declared him guilty and placed him under a three-year treatment order.

Inspector Chantelle Casha prosecuted.

Lawyer Joe Ellis was defence counsel.